'^<!/ojiiv3jo>^    ^^mm-i^"^      -^sjMwm^ 


^OFCAllFORij^     ^OFCAlIFOMj!^ 


^    "^jaaMND-av^^      '^^Aaviaii-#'    ^^<?Aavaan'#     %3dnvsoi^ 


^5j!\rUNIVER%. 


A^tUBRARYOc, 


^2     

y"^      ^OJITVDJO'^ 

?^      ^OFCAIIFO/?^ 


#    ^>&iSvaan-i^^ 


.\WEUNIVER% 


^lOSANCnf/^ 


'^TiUDNVSOl^      %a3AlNft3yVV 


.^W^UNIVER5•/A 

< 

1^  _ 


^lOSANCElfx^ 
o 


'^/ia3AiNn-3W^^ 


-5^lUBRARY<v 


^OFCAllFOfi"^ 


%       ^WSANCFlfj-^  -^illBRARYOc.       ^lllBRARYOr 


.^WEUNfVER5/A. 
9 


^     "^/saaAiNO-jwv^       '^«i/ojnv3JO't^    %ojnvjjo^       <rii33Kvsov^ 


1/^       ^lOS^CElCf^ 


.^jOF'CAllFOfi'^C},       .^;OFCAIIFO%, 


"^/^aaAiNO-jftV**      "^(^AHvaan-^    "^^Aavaan-i^ 


.^WEUNIVERS/A 


%U3NVS01^ 


Oc.       ^UIBRARYOr^ 

5   ^ 

S5i^      ^OFCAUFOi?^ 


/\WEUNIVER% 


v^clOSANCELfj-^ 


.^\^E•UNIVER%. 


^^lOSANGElfj^. 


.^lllBRARY^v 


^J^i33Nvsoi^     "^/saJAiNnai^^      %ojnvDjo^ 


^OfCAl(F(% 


^. 


.''^ 


^ 


^^WFUNIVHR%      ^IDSANCflG^ 


"^^TiiMNV-SOl^      "^/SIBAINfl-aVftJ^ 


I 


.^\\F•UN|V£RS/A 

r  " 


^lOSANCElfj^ 


^lUBRARYOc. 


^lUBRARYOc. 


%130NVS01^      %a3AIN(l-3l\V 


o 


"^/SiBAINfl-aWV^ 


^OFCAllFOffvij^ 


^OFCAllFOft)^ 


^HIBRARYOr^      ^U!BRARY(?^ 


^OFCAllFOff^      ^OFCAIIFO^;)^ 


/N\^Fl)NIVBRS/A 


"^f^JONVSOl^ 


.^WEUNIVERVa 


'J^3NVS01^ 


^lOSANCFlfj^ 
<p 

CO 

so 

%a3AiNn-3AV** 


^lOSANCElCr^ 
o 


%a3AiNIl-3ViV^ 


^^Wt•UNIVrey/^       A^lOSANCFlfX^ 


<r?130NVS01^       %a3AINIl-3Wv 


^tUBRARY(?^ 


^HIBRARYQr^ 


^OFCAUF0%      ^orCAUFORto 


KOREAN  BUDDHISM 


PLATE  I 

Kim  Ku  Ha,  President  of  Buddhist  Committee 

FOR  1917 

[Page  35] 


KOREAN 
BUDDHISM 

HISTORY— CONDITION  — ART 

Three  Lectures 

BY 

FREDERICK  STARR 


BOSTON 
MARSHALL  JONES  COMPANY 

1918 


COPYRIGHT,  19  I  8 
BY  MARSHALL  JONES  COMPANY 


ylll  rights  reser-ved 


PRINTED   BY 
THE   UNIVERSITY  PRESS,    CAMBRIDGE,    U.  S.  A. 


THIS  BOOK  ON  KOREAN   BUDDHISM  IS 

TO 
MY  FRIEND    AND    FELLOW-STUDENT 

"KUGEN^'-OGURI  SAN 

OF   TOKYO 


169741 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  author  does  not  over-estimate 
the  importance  of  this  little  book: 
it  is  nothing  more  than  its  title 
claims.  It  consists  of  three  lectures  given 
to  popular  audiences,  with  the  accompani- 
ment of  many  illustrations.  It  represents, 
however,  a  considerable  amount  of  work 
in  an  almost  virgin  field.  It  has  involved 
hard  journeys  to  remote  mountain  mon- 
asteries, and  days  and  nights  of  conversa- 
tion and  inquiry  with  many  monks  and 
priests.  It  is  not,  however,  a  profound 
study  nor  an  exhaustive  presentation.  It 
barely  touches  many  a  subject,  which  would 
alone  furnish  more  material  than  could 
be  treated  in  three  such  lectures.  It  but 
scratches  the  surface. 

The  material  which  it  presents  is  how- 
ever new.  Outside  of  Mrs.  Bishop's  ac- 
count of  her  visit  to  the  Diamond  Moun- 
tain monasteries  and  scattered  references  in 

[vii] 


INTRODUCTION 

her  book  to  a  few  local  temples,  there  is 
almost  nothing  on  the  subject  of  Korean 
Buddhism  accessible  to  English  readers. 
A  glance  at  our  bibliography  will  show  that 
not  one  of  the  books  or  articles  there  listed 
appeared  in  the  West.  All  were  printed 
at  Seoul,  Shanghai  and  Tokyo  and  pub- 
lications appearing  at  those  centers  are  little 
known  outside.  To  aid  serious  readers, 
who  may  care  to  secure  them,  the  pub- 
lishers' names  are  given  in  our  list.  The 
author  has  carefully  read  all  the  items  listed 
and  acknowledges  indebtedness  to  all  the 
authors. 

The  actual  amount  of  material  for  the 
full  study  of  Korean  Buddhism  is  enor- 
mous. There  are  many  voluminous  works 
in  Chinese  and  Korean  dealing  with  Kor- 
ean history;  when  carefully  sifted,  these 
will  yield  many  important  facts.  Many, 
perhaps  all,  of  the  monasteries  have  rec- 
ords of  their  history  somewhat  after  the 
nature  of  annals ;  most  of  these  are  in  manu- 
script, but  a  few  have  been  printed,  pre- 
sumably from  wood-blocks  cut  at  the  estab- 
lishment by  the  monks.     There  is  a  third 

[  viii  ] 


INTRODUCTION 

source  of  information,  as  vast  in  bulk  as 
either  of  the  other  two;  it  is  the  inscriptions 
on  monuments,  which  are  scattered  in  thou- 
sands over  the  peninsula.  The  gleaning  of 
information  from  these  three  sources  —  for 
the  work  must  absolutely  be  of  the  nature 
of  gleaning  —  will  require  many  years,  but 
the  work  is  worth  the  doing.  It  is  urgent 
also.  Every  one  of  these  three  sources  is 
subject  to  destruction  and  even  now  is 
threatened.  Old  books  in  Korea  are  being 
constantly  lost  and  destroyed ;  new  editions 
of  them  are  often  carelessly  and  inaccur- 
ately reproduced;  in  some  cases,  the  new 
editions  are  intentionally  mutilated,  im- 
portant passages  being  suppressed.  The 
monastery  records  are  less  secure  than  ever 
before;  with  the  new  life  and  energy  in 
these  old  establishments,  renovation  and 
clearing  out  of  nooks  and  corners  and  over- 
hauling of  accumulations  of  papers,  places 
documents,  the  value  of  which  is  unknown 
or  unappreciated,  in  serious  jeopardy.  As 
for  the  monuments  many  are  disappearing 
and  others  are  becoming  undecipherable 
through    weathering.      There    is    pressing 

[ix] 


INTRODUCTION 

need  then  of  promptly  securing  these  ma- 
terials and  making  them  available  for  study. 
The  Japanese  are  doing  much  good  work. 
They  are  gathering  old  books  and  records. 
Up  to  1915  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  books,  manuscript  and  printed, 
had  been  gathered  by  the  Government- 
General.  Among  these  vv^ere  the  "Annals 
of  Yi "  numbering  sixteen  hundred  and 
thirty-three  volumes  and  the  "  Royal 
Diaries,"  aggregating  thirty-one  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  volumes,  "  all  hand-written 
with  the  brush."  Of  the  "Annals"  there 
were  four  sets  made  under  the  Korean 
government  for  the  four  old  royal  libraries. 
The  "  Royal  Diaries "  were  compiled  at  the 
king's  orders;  they  dated  from  Yi  Tajo 
himself,  but  those  up  to  near  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century  were  burned  by  the  Ko- 
reans at  the  time  of  the  Hideyoshi  invasion; 
those  now  existing  cover  the  period  from 
1623  to  1907.  Japanese  scholars  have  or- 
ganized a  society  for  reprinting  old  and 
rare  Korean  books  and  have  gotten  out 
many  volumes.  They  are  piling  up  direct 
observations  also.    From  1909  to  19 15,  they 

[x] 


INTRODUCTION 

conducted  a  peninsula-wide  survey  of 
ancient  monuments  and  have  printed  the 
results  in  four  fine  volumes,  with  splendid 
illustrations,  under  the  title  Chosen  ko 
seki  gafu.  They  have  taken  steps  toward 
the  preservation  and,  where  necessary,  the 
reconstruction  of  important  monuments 
and  notable  buildings.  They  are  copying 
the  monastery  records  and  ultimately  will 
have  a  complete  set  of  all  that  remain.  The 
originals  ought  to  be  left  in  possession  of 
the  monasteries  themselves,  with  the  ob- 
ligation to  guard  and  keep  them  safely. 
As  to  monumental  inscriptions,  the  Govern- 
ment-General has  been  equally  industrious. 
Up  to  March,  19 15,  there  had  been  made 
thirteen  hundred  and  seventy-seven  direct 
rubbings  from  inscribed  stones,  of  which 
forty-four  represented  Sylla,  forty-three  the 
period  of  the  Koryu  Dynasty  and  thirteen 
hundred  and  three  the  Yi  Dynasty.  It  is 
fortunate  that  this  preservation  of  material 
is  being  undertaken.  The  world  will  profit 
by  it,  though  it  may  still  be  long  locked  up 
in  Chinese  characters. 

In  this  book  the  work  of  Yi  Nung  Hwa  is 

[xi] 


INTRODUCTION 

mentioned.  His  Buddhist  magazine  should 
yield  some  data  of  value.  If  his  History  of 
Korean  Buddhism  is  printed  it  ought  to  be 
of  high  importance,  as  he  naturally  has  a 
much  easier  task  in  consulting  the  original 
sources  than  any  foreigner.  If  his  work  is 
done  with  care  and  critical  judgment  it 
should  be  the  necessary  foundation  for  all 
future  study.  All  depends  upon  how  he 
performs  his  task.  Readers  who  become 
interested  in  our  lectures  are  advised  to  read 
Bishop  Trollope's  admirable  Introduction. 
It  clears  the  ground  and  indicates  the 
direction  of  further  studies. 

The  author  has  hundreds  of  negatives 
illustrating  Korean  Buddhism.  One  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pictures  were  used  in  the 
original  lectures.  When  cutting  down  to 
what  seemed  the  absolute  limit,  in  selecting 
pictures  for  the  book,  he  found  that  he  had 
more  than  double  the  number  permitted 
by  the  necessary  conditions.  Further  re- 
duction was  difficult  and  many  pictures 
have  been  rejected,  which  are  more  beau- 
tiful or  interesting  than  some  of  those  that 
are  included.     The  final  choice  was  based 

[xii] 


INTRODUCTION 

upon  the  desire  to  give  as  clear  an  idea  as 
possible  of  actual  conditions  and  to  repre- 
sent all  the  important  phases  presented  in 
the  lectures.  One  or  two  of  the  pictures 
were  made  by  Manuel  Gonzales  in  191 1; 
all  the  others  are  the  work  of  Maebashi 
Hambei,  who  accompanied  me,  in  my  last 
three  expeditions  to  Korea,  as  photographer. 

Chicago,  July  12,  1918. 


[  xiii  1 


CONTENTS 

Korean  Buddhism:  p^,.p 

History       i 

Condition       32 

Art 66 

Bibliography      97 

Notes        99 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  FACING  PAGE 

I    Kim  Ku  Ha.    President  of  Buddhist  Com- 
mittee for  191 7 Frontispiece 

II    General  view:  Pomo-sa 2 

III  General  view:  Yuchom-sa,  Diamond  Moun- 

tains           4 

IV  Sari  monuments:  Yuchom-sa 6 

V    Main  Temple:  Kumsan-sa 10 

VI  Sari  monument  pyramid,  Kumsan-sa.  (A 
relic  of  Buddha  is  supposed  to  be  en- 
shrined here) 16 

VII    Geomantic  Mast:  Chung-ju 18 

VIII    The  Buddha:  cave  temple,  Sukkul-am     .    .  22 

IX    Bodhisattva  figure,  Sukkul-am 24 

X    Great  Miriok:  Eunjin,     General  view  .    .  26 
XI    Group  at  Fukoan,  branch  of  Sinkei-sa;  Dia- 
mond Mountains 28 

XII    Hain-sa:  Building  for  the  Wood-blocks  .    .  34 

XIII  Hain-sa:    Building    for    the    Wood-blocks, 

interior 38 

XIV  Great  Buddha  relief  on  rock  face:   Inner 

Kongo 44 

XV    Sari  monument  to  Muhak:  Hoiam-sa    .    .     48 
XVI    Head-priest    and    Pagoda:    Sinkei-sa,    Dia- 
mond Mountains 50 

[  xvii  ] 


LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  FACING  PAGE 

XVII     Main    Temple:    \  uchom-sa,    Diamond 

Mountains        52 

XVIII    Carved  Door,  Yuchom-sa 54 

XIX    Brahmanic     Guardian     of     Buddhism: 

Songkwang-sa      5  b 

XX,  A,  B.    Two  Deva  Kings,  Guardians  of 

World  Quarters:  Sukwang-sa   ...     58 

XXI  Gigantic  Deva  King.  Guardian  of 
World  Quarter:  Pawpchu-sa.  The 
Korean  standing  hy  is  a  married  man 

of  normal  stature 60 

XXII    Wall    painting:    The    White    Tortoise 

Scene  of  the  Sei-yeii-ki :  Pongeum-sa    60 

XXIII  Wall  paintings  on  plaster:  Sukwang-sa    58 

XXIV  Great    figures    of     Buddhist    Trinity, 

seated  :  Pawpchu-sa.     Sakya,  Monju, 

Fugen       70 

XXV    Great    figures    of    Buddhist    Trinity, 
standing:        Kumsan-sa.  Amida, 

Kwannon,    Daiseishi.      (Thirty   feet 

or  so  in  height) 72 

XXVI  Figures  —  a  Trio  of  Trinities:  Suk- 
wang-sa. (The  figures  are  said  to 
be  Kwannon,  Amida,  Daiseishi, 
Monju,     Vairoshana,     Fugen,     Jihi, 

Sakyamuni  Teikakara)       74 

XXVII    Figure     and     painting    of     Kwannon: 

Pomo-sa 70 

XXVIII  Hall  of  the  Ten  Kings  of  Hell: 
Yongju-sa.  (Notice  combination  of 
figures  and  painting;  the  god  of  hell 
with  two  helpers,  five  kings  with 
small  servants,  two  other  officers,  and 
one  of  the  two  Brahmanic  guardians)  78 
[  xviii  ] 


LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  FACING  PAGE 

XXIX    Hall  of   Five   Hundred   Ralcan:   Suk- 

wang-sa      80 

XXX  Extraordinarj^  combinations  of  Rakan 
figures:  Hall  of  Five  Hundred 
Rakan:  Songkwang-sa       82 

XXXI    Painting    of    the    Seven    Stars:    Suk- 

wang-sa       84 

XXXII    Group  painting:  Sukwang-sa 86 

XXXIII  One  of  the  Eight  Scenes  in  the  Life  of 

Buddha:     Sakya    gains     Enlighten- 
ment :  Pomo-sa      88 

XXXIV  The  God  of  the  Mountain:  Fuko-an, 

branch      of      Sinkei-sa,      Diamond 

Mountains 90 

XXXV    Portrait  of  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Six- 
teen Kakan :  Chikchi-sa 92 

XXXVI    Great  painting:  Pawpchu-sa    ....     94 
XXXVII    Great  painting  displayed  at  Buddha's 

Birthday  Ceremony:  Tongdo-sa  .    .     94 


[xix] 


KOREAN  BUDDHISM 


KOREAN   BUDDHISM 

KOREAN    BUDDHISM:    HISTORY 

SINCE  191 1  it  has  been  my  privilege  to^ 
make   four  journeys   into    Korea,   son 
long  known  as  "  The  Hermit  King-\ 
dom."    To-day  Korea  has  ceased  to  be  an 
independent    nation;    she    has    been    com- 
pletely absorbed  by  Japan  and  forms  part 
of  the  Japanese  Empire.    I  found  much  of 
interest  in  the  country.     I  studied  the  peo- 
ple and  their  daily  life;  T  visited  many  of 
the  famous  points  of  interest  and  beauty; 
I  have  studied  somewhat  into  Korean  his- 
tory.     Nothing,    however,    has    more    in- 
terested   me    than    the    study    of    Korean 
religions,   particularly   Bojdiihism^     When 
asked    to    give    some    public    lectures    this 
summer,   I  consented  gladly  to  speak  for 
three  evenings  on   the  subject  of   Korean 
Buddhism.     My  three   lectures  will   deal 
with  History  —  Condition  —  Art. 
[i] 


KOREAN   BUDDHISM 

The  history  of  Korea  falls  into  three 
sharply  marked  periods.  The  first  is  known 
as  the  era  of  the  Three  Kingdoms — ^it 
ended  with  the  year  918,  a  year  easy  to  re- 
member because  exactly  one  thousand  years 
ago.  The  second  is  the  period  of  the  Koryu 
Dynasty;  it  began  with  the  year  918  and 
ended  in  1392,  a  date  easy  for  us  to  remem- 
ber because  precisely  a  century  before  the 
discovery  of  America  by  Columbus.  The 
third  period,  known  as  the  period  of  the 
Yi  Dynasty,  began  with  1392  and  continued 
until  1910,  when  the  independent  history 
of  Korea  ended  with  its  absorption  by 
Japan. 

The  history  of  Buddhism  in  Korea  is 
divided  into  the  same  three  periods,  as  the 
things  which  caused  breaks  in  the  national 
history  were  related  to  the  religion.  We 
shall  then  speak  of  the  Buddhism  of  the 
Three  Kingdoms,  of  the  Koryu  Dynasty 
and  of  the  Yi  Dynasty. 

The  early  period  is  called  the  era  of  the 

Three  Kingdoms  because  at  that  time  the 

peninsula  was  occupied  by  three  different 

nations.     The   largest,   in   the   north,   was 

[2] 


o 
o 

^  > 

<^ 
a; 
w 

w 

O 


HISTORY 

called  Koguryu.  Japanese  pronounce  the 
name  as  Koma.  It  occupied  more  than 
half  of  the  peninsula.  Its  capital  city  was 
P'yeng-Yang,  still  a  city  of  importance. 
The  second  kingdom  was  smaller;  in  the 
southwest  of  the  peninsula,  it  was  known 
by  the  name  of  Pakche,  which  is  pro- 
nounced by  the  Japanese  Kudara.  The 
third  kingdom  occupied  the  southeastern 
section  of  the  peninsula.  It  was  larger  than 
Pakche,  but  smaller  than  Koguryu,  and  was 
called  Silla,  Japanese,  Shiragi.  Such  then, 
were  the  three  kingdoms  which  existed 
through  a  period  of  hundreds  of  years. 

Unfortunately  all  names  in  Korea  have 
several  pronunciations.  They  are  usually 
spelled  with  Chinese  characters.  If  a 
Chinese  pronounces  the  name,  he  will  pro- 
nounce it  in  a  certain  way,  dependent  upon 
what  part  of  China  he  comes  from;  a 
Korean  will  pronounce  the  same  characters 
quite  differently;  a  Japanese  has  still  a 
diflferent  pronunciation.  It  is  for  this  rea- 
son that  the  Korean  and  Japanese  names 
of  these  kingdoms  differ;  the  same  char- 
acters are  pronounced  Koguryu  by  the 
[3] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Koreans  and  Koma  by  the  Japanese; 
Pakche  on  the  Korean  tongue  becomes 
Kudara  with  the  Japanese;  and  where 
the  Korean  says  Silla,  the  Japanese  says 
Shiragi. 

Such  then  was  the  condition  of  the 
peninsula  preceding  918.  It  was  divided 
into  three  kingdoms,  each  with  its  own 
ruler.  Buddhism,  a  religion  which  began 
in  India,  came  to  Korea  by  way  of  China. 
It  naturally  first  reached  the  northern 
kingdom.  It  was  introduced  in  369  A.D. 
and  its  introduction  was  the  result  of 
foreign  missionary  efifort.  In  those  days 
there  was  an  Empire  of  China,  but  there 
were  also  various  small  Chinese  kingdoms 
along  the  northern  border  of  the  Korean 
peninsula.  Buddhism  came  to  Koguryu 
from  one  of  these  little  Chinese  kingdoms, 
the  king  of  which  sent  its  message  by 
the  hands  of  a  priest  named  Sundo,  who 
brought  idols  and  sacred  texts.  He  was 
well  received  on  his  appearance  in  P'yeng- 
Yang.  The  king  of  the  country  placed  the 
crown  prince  in  his  care  for  education.  In 
a  few  years  the  new  religion  had  made 
[4] 


iiisroRV 

great  headway.  It  had  brought  with  it 
art  and  education,  and  the  kingdom  of 
Koguryu  became  a  center  of  culture  and 
advancement. 

Five  years  later,  in  374,  another  priest 
named  Ado  was  sent  from  the  same  Chinese 
kingdom.  His  coming  added  impetus  to 
the  religion  and  two  great  monasteries 
were  founded  near  P'yeng-Yang,  over  one 
of  which  Ado  was  placed,  while  Sundo 
had  charge  of  the  other.  These  two  mon- 
asteries were  not  only  centers  of  religion, 
they  were  full-fledged  universities  according 
to  the  ideas  of  the  universities  in  those  days. 

After  they  were  founded  Buddhism  con- 
tinued to  spread  rapidly  so  that  in  392  it 
became  the  official  religion  of  the  kingdom. 

We  are  told  that  in  the  year  378,  as  the 
result  of  the  coming  of  these  foreign  priests, 
the  city  of  P'yeng-Yang  was  laid  out  as  a 
great  ship.  To  us  this  sounds  strange.  It 
is  not  easy  for  us  to  realize  that  a  city  was 
really  regarded  as  a  great  ship  and  that  a 
mast  was  erected  in  its  midst,  apparently 
in  order  that  the  sails  of  prosperity  might 
waft  the  ship  to  good  fortune  and  success. 
[si 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Outside  the  city  were  stone  posts  to  which 
the  ship  was  to  be  tied  up,  and  for  many 
years  it  was  forbidden  to  dig  wells  in  the 
city  because  it  was  feared  that  if  a  well 
were  dug,  the  boat  would  spring  a  leak 
and  the  whole  place  would  be  foundered. 
Such  was  science  in  the  fourth  century. 
It  seems  strange  to  us  now,  but  ideas  of  that 
kind  were  rife  in  those  days;  in  fact  they 
have  not  yet  disappeared  from  popular 
thought  in  Korea.  I  am  not  sure  whether 
such  ideas  are  connected  with  Buddhism, 
or  whether  they  only  form  a  part  of  that 
old  geomantic  philosophy  which  has  so 
greatly  influenced  China,  Korea  and  Japan 
through  centuries.  We  find  geomantic 
survivals  of  many  kinds  in  many  places. 
Old  masts  are  scattered  all  over  Korea, 
here  and  there,  sometimes  in  quite  inacces- 
sible places;  built  of  wood,  they  rise  to  a 
great  height,  and  are  sheathed  with  metal, 
which  may  bear  an  inscription  and  date. 
Many  other  places  than  P'yeng-Yang  were 
thought  of  as  great  ships  —  temples,  cities, 
entire  valleys.     (Plate  VII.) 

At  Tongdo-sa,  a  great  monastery  in  the 
[6] 


o 

X 

o 


Pi 

< 


HISTORY 

south  of  Korea,  my  attention  was  called 
to  an  iron  ring  fastened  to  a  rock  near  the 
trail.  They  told  me  that  it  was  for  the 
tethering  of  a  great  ox,  that  all  the  mound 
of  earth  and  rock,  near  there  is  considered 
to  be  a  great  ox  lying  down ;  a  hole  about  a 
foot  in  diameter  in  the  rock,  close  by  the 
trail,  is  said  to  be  the  nostril  of  the  crea- 
ture, and  a  knoll  of  earth  near  by  formed 
its  head,  while  the  great  body  stretched 
out  far  beyond. 

At  Riri  my  attention  was  called  to  a 
mountain  ridge  and  I  was  told  that  it  was 
a  running  horse;  two  stone  pillars  stood  on 
the  level  ground  near  by^ — ^they  were  in- 
tended to  prevent  the  horse  from  damaging 
the  fields.  It  seems  that  many  years  ago  it 
was  realized  that  a  running  horse  was 
likely  to  do  damage  to  growing  crops;  the 
wise  men  of  the  district  were  called  to- 
gether and  consulted;  they  determined  that 
they  would  destroy  the  danger  by  erecting 
these  pillars  of  stone,  beyond  which  the 
horse  cannot  go. 

Perhaps  ideas  like  these  were  taught  in 
those  old  universities  in  375  A.D.  Perhaps 
[7] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

they  were  then,  as  now,  individual  and 
professional  knowledge,  not  to  be  learned 
in  schools. 

The  new  religion  next  entered  the  little 
kingdom  of  Pakche.  This  was  in  the  year 
384.  This  time  it  was  not  sent  unsolicited 
by  some  little  Chinese  kingdom,  but  came 
by  request  from  China  proper.  The  peo- 
ple of  Pakche  knew  what  Buddhism  had 
done  for  Koguryu  and  they  asked  the 
Emperor  of  China  to  send  them  a  famous 
priest  named  Marananda.  It  seems  that 
he  was  a  Hindu,  who  had  a  great  reputa- 
tion for  learning.  He  brought  with  him 
images  and  texts  and  all  the  paraphernalia 
necessary  for  the  gorgeous  ceremonials 
of  his  religion.  He  was  received  with 
great  respect  by  the  king  and  was  lodged 
in  the  palace.  Soon  after  ten  other  priests 
came  from  China  and  the  religion  made 
rapid  headway  through  Pakche.  It  was 
from  Pakche  in  the  year  552  that  Bud- 
dhism was  sent  for  the  first  time  into 
Japan.  The  king  of  Pakche  sent  images 
and  texts  and  a  letter  to  the  Emperor, 
Kimmei,  saying  that  it  was  a  good  religion, 
[8] 


HISTORY 

and    that   he    hoped    the   Japanese   would 
accept  it. 

Last  of  the  three  kingdoms  to  receive 
Buddhism  was  Silla,  to  which  it  came 
about  424.  It  is  reported  to  have  come 
from  the  capital  city  of  Koguryu,  P'yeng- 
Yang,  and  the  priest  who  brought  it  was 
named  Mukocha.  He  appears  to  have 
gone  down  the  Taidong  River  to  the  sea  and 
then  around  the  peninsula  and  up  the  east 
coast  in  order  to  reach  Silla.  He  is  always 
spoken  of  as  a  black  man,  or  negro;  per- 
haps he  was  actually  an  African.  There 
seems  to  have  been  some  mystery  about  his 
arrival;  it  may  be  that  the  people  did  not 
like  his  color,  or  were  afraid  of  his  strange 
appearance.  He  hired  himself  out  as  a 
plowman  to  a  farmer  named  Morei.  His 
employer  concealed  him  in  a  cave.  It  is 
said  that  when  he  was  hidden  in  this  cave 
it  frequently  shone  with  glory.  Outside  the 
cave  there  was  a  peach  tree,  which  burst 
into  bloom  with  flowers  of  five  different 
colors,  and  in  the  winter,  when  there  was 
snow  on  the  mountains  outside,  irises  and 
other  flowers  of  wondrous  fragrance  are 
[9] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

said  to  have  broken  their  way  up  through 
the  snow.  The  black  monk  is  said  i<^  have 
worn  a  red  cap  and  a  crimson  kcsa.  It 
would  seem  that  the  whole  neighborhood 
must  have  known  about  these  wonders. 

About  this  time  it  is  said  that  an  anibas- 
sador  from  China  came  to  the  king  of  Silla 
at  his  capital  cit>-  of  Kyong  Ju.  The  mes- 
senger brought  various  gifts,  among  them 
a  substance  which  R'j  on^  knew:  it  had 
never  been  seen  before  in  Silla.  It  seems 
strange  that  the  ambassador  should  not  have 
known  what  he  brought,  but  it  is  asserted 
that  he  was  ignorant  in  the  matter,  and  so 
the  king  sent  t'3  the  cave  —  only  ten  miles 
away — and  ordered  the  black  monk  to 
come  to  Kyong  Ju  to  identify  the  gift.  He 
had  no  trouble  in  recognizing  it.  because  it 
was  incense,  common  enough  in  Chinese 
Buddhism,  but  before  unseen  in  Silla. 
He  told  them  that  when  burned  before  an 
idol  with  prayers  of  faith,  the  god  was 
sure  to  answer  petitions.  It  happened  at 
the  moment  that  the  king's  daughter  was 
ill.  and  he  begged  the  biack  monk  to  try 
the  efficacy  of  incense  and  prayer.     Seven 


^ 


HISTORY 

days  he  spent  in  prayer  before  the  idol  and 
a  cure  was  wrought.  Soon  afterwards 
Mukocha  begged  the  king  to  send  to  China 
and  the  West  for  artists  to  come  and  cut 
figures  in  the  rock  walls  of  his  cave,  as  he 
desired  to  make  a  chapel  to  the  gods.  The 
request  was  sent,  the  artists  came,  and  it  is 
said  that  they  spent  forty  years  in  carving 
the  wonderful  figures  which  to  this  day 
adorn  the  walls  of  the  little  circular  chapel 
in  the  mountain  cave.  It  would  require  a 
separate  lecture  forme  to  tell  you  of  my  visit 
to  that  remarkable  shrine,  with  its  genuine 
treasures  of  art.     (Plates  VIII,  IX.) 

I  must,  however,  say  something  about 
the  old  capital  city  of  Kyong  Ju.  It  had  its 
period  of  glory,  and  its  ruins  are  still  impres- 
sive. Almost  fifteen  hundred  years  have 
passed  since  the  black  monk  brought  in  the 
new  religion.  To-day  there  remains  only  a 
little  town,  but  all  the  country  around  is 
sprinkled  with  the  relics  of  the  past.  Here  is 
the  splendid  grave  of  General  Kim,  twelve 
hundred  years  old.  It  is  faced  around  with 
stone  slabs,  set  firmly  in  place,  twelve  of 
them  being  carved  with  the  animals  of  the 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Eastern  Zodiac.  Here  are  the  ruins  of  an 
ice-house,  perhaps  nine  hundred  years  old; 
cunningly  built  of  stone,  under  a  mound  of 
earth,  with  true  arch-vaulting,  it  sheltered 
ice  for  the  chilling  of  food  and  the  cooling 
of  drink  a  thousand  years  ago.  There  re- 
mains here  a  portion  of  a  beautiful  pagoda; 
much  of  it  was  destroyed  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  when  Hideyoshi's  army  of  invasion 
came  from  Japan  and  wrought  havoc  and 
destruction  in  Korea;  built  in  the  seventh 
century,  it  was  a  beautiful  structure  of 
splendid,  thoroughly-baked  black  bricks 
and  stone;  stone  doors  below,  moving  on 
stone  pivots  set  in  stone  sockets  were  dec- 
orated with  carved  work.  To-day  only 
the  three  lower  stories  remain,  but  they 
serve  to  show  that  the  people  were  true 
artists.  Here,  too,  one  sees  an  astronomical 
observatory,  built  of  stone,  a  sort  of  tower 
of  circular  form,  seventeen  feet  through; 
it  was  intended  for  the  observation  of 
heavenly  bodies;  nearly  thirteen  hundred 
years  of  age,  it  is  perhaps  the  oldest  existing 
building  constructed  for  such  purposes  in 
the  world. 

[12] 


HISTORY 

In  those  fine  days,  Kyong  Ju  was  a  center 
of  trade  and  industry.  Chinese,  Koreans 
and  Japanese  were  there;  we  are  certain 
that  Tibetans,  Indiana  and  Persians  came 
thither,  and  it  is  claimed  that  merchants 
from  Arabia  used  to  stand  in  its  market 
place.  Of  course  we  all  know  of  the  an- 
tiquity of  culture  around  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea;  we  appreciate  its  achievements, 
and  love  to  think  of  its  glories;  but  we  are 
apt  to  think  of  the  Far  East  as  being  eter- 
nally stagnant  and  it  surprises  us  to  learn 
of  a  busy  mart  of  trade  in  Kyong  Ju,  Silla. 

And  it  had  its  scholars  also.  There  was 
Ch'oe  Chuen.  He  was  a  poet  and  essayist; 
he  was  a  skilled  caligrapher,  writing  the 
beautiful  Chinese  characters  famously;  he 
was  reckoned  as  one  of  the  great  sages  and 
learned  men  of  his  day  in  China  proper, 
than  which  there  was  no  higher  honor. 

During  the  period  of  the  Three  King- 
doms, Buddhism  thus  penetrated  to  every 
part  of  the  peninsula.  It  prospered.  Splen- 
did temples  were  built,  great  monasteries 
constructed,  magnificent  bells  cast,  beauti- 
ful   pagodas    erected,    figures    carved    by 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

thousands.  Religions  that  prosper  too 
greatly  become  corrupt.  State  religions 
tend  to  become  curses.  Religious  endow- 
ments tie  up  money  which  the  people  need. 
The  dead  hand  may  hold  under  restraint 
property  which  should  be  at  work,  helping 
the  world.  All  this  happened  with  Bud- 
dhism in  Korea.  In  the  last  days  of  the 
Three  Kingdoms  Korean  Buddhism  was 
refined  and  artistic,  impressive  and  beau- 
tiful, but  was  corrupt  and  harmful  rather 
than  helpful. 

We  may,  perhaps,  take  the  date  685  A.D. 
as  marking  the  greatest  glory  of  Silla.  At 
that  time  she  was  gaining  power  over  the 
neighboring  kingdoms  and  before  her 
glory  ended  she  ruled  the  whole  peninsula. 

In  876  the  king  of  Silla  was  named 
Chung — also  called  Hongang.  During 
his  rule  the  country  was  rapidly  declining. 
He  was  followed  by  his  brother,  who  in 
turn  was  succeeded  by  his  sister,  who  be- 
came queen  of  Silla  in  888.  Her  name  was 
Man.  The  only  reason  why  we  mention 
these  three  rulers  is  that  we  wish  to  intro- 
duce the  man  who  led  up  to  the  second 
[14] 


D 


< 
Pu 

w 

O 

:^ 

2 
<; 

C/3 


<; 


HISTORY 

period  of  Korean  history.  His  name  was 
Kun-ye.  He  was  the  son  of  king  Chung, 
by  a  concubine,  but  never  became  king  of 
Silla.  When  his  aunt,  queen  Man,  was 
ruling,  he  became  a  disturbing  element, 
heading  an  insurrection.  The  glory  of 
Silla  was  really  past  and  the  old  kingdom 
was  rapidly  declining.  Kun-ye  was  for- 
tunate in  having  an  excellent  general, 
named  Wang-on,  and  made  headway  with 
his  rebellion;  founding  a  new  kingdom  in 
central  Korea,  he  gradually  extended  his 
rule,  through  the  skilful  leadership  of 
Wang-on,  until  much  of  the  middle  part 
of  the  peninsula  was  under  his  control. 
But  the  man  was  mad,  religiously  mad. 
He  was  not  only  a  Buddhist;  he  called 
himself  a  Buddha.  Under  the  cloak  of 
religion  he  did  all  kinds  of  wild  and 
wicked  things,  and  indulged  in  the  most 
absurd  extravagances.  Finally  the  burden 
of  his  tyranny  and  his  religious  claims  be- 
came so  heavy  that  his  officials  plotted 
against  him  and  begged  his  general,  Wang- 
on,  to  dethrone  him  and  seize  the  power. 
Ultimately  that  very  thing  happened,  and 
[15] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

in  the  year  918,  one  thousand  years  ago, 
Wang-on  became  the  first  king  of  a  new 
dynasty,  that  of  Koryu. 

Before  we  leave  the  period  of  the  Three 
Kingdoms,  however,  let  us  notice  two  in- 
teresting matters.  You  remember  that 
Buddhism  was  brought  to  the  Three  King- 
doms by  three  priests  —  Sundo,  Mara- 
nanda,  Mukocha.  Sundo  was  a  man  from 
Tibet;  I  suppose  he  represented  the  great 
Mongolian  race,  that  he  was  a  yellow 
man;  Marananda,  who  brought  religion 
to  Pakche  was  a  Hindu;  presumably  he 
represented  the  Caucasic  peoples;  he  may 
have  been  dark,  but  our  courts  would 
probably  have  to  call  him  a  white  man; 
Mukocha  was  called  a  black  man,  a  negro, 
and  probably  really  represented  the  Ethio- 
pian race.  Is  it  not  interesting  that  the 
peninsula  of  Korea  should  have  received 
its  first  generally  spread  religion  through 
representatives  of  the  three  great  races  of 
the  world,  the  yellow,  white  and  black? 
Buddhism,  the  first  universal  religion  that 
the  world  ever  saw,  early  made  an  appeal 
to  all  men,  regardless  of  color  and  of  race. 
[16] 


HISTORY 

Two  famous  men,  Chinese,  lived  during 
this  period.  Their  names  were  Fa-hien 
and  Hiouen-Tsiang.  In  399  A.D.  Fa-hien 
started  on  foot  from  China,  to  visit  India, 
to  learn  of  Buddhism  and  Buddha  in  the 
old  home.  He  travelled  many  thousands 
of  miles  of  weary  pilgrimage  in  order  to 
bring  back  with  him  fresh  idols  and  cor- 
rect texts  and  new  inspiration  from  the 
cradle  of  the  great  religion.  It  was  more 
than  two  hundred  years  later,  in  629,  that 
Hiouen-Tsiang  made  the  same  journey. 
Think  of  the  danger  these  men  passed 
through!  They  crossed  deserts,  which  even 
to-day  are  almost  impassable;  they  climbed 
difficult  mountains  and  crossed  broad  riv- 
ers; they  journeyed  through  countries  of 
hostile  peoples;  they  had  to  travel  with- 
out artificial  means  of  transportation 
through  districts  of  foreign  speech ;  they 
did  all  just  to  visit  the  old  home  of  the 
Great  Teacher,  and  to  get  his  religion  at 
first  hand.  We  have  the  record  of  their 
travels.  Their  simple  diaries  have  been 
translated  into  various  languages  of  Asia 
and  into  English,  French  and  other  Euro- 
[17] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

pean  tongues.  Fa-hien  was  fifteen  years 
upon  his  pilgrimage,  Hiouen-Tsiang  six- 
teen years.  Both  lived  to  come  back  to 
their  homes  to  the  great  advantage  of  their 
co-religionists. 

We  have  no  diaries  written  by  old  Ko- 
rean pilgrims,  but  we  know  that  during  the 
glow  of  early  convertship  many  from  the 
peninsula  made  the  same  journey  to  the 
West.'  Between  638  A.D.  and  650  seven  at 
least  went  from  Korea  to  India  to  study  the 
new  religion  in  its  old  home.  Most  of 
them  died  there,  never  returning  to  their 
native  land. 

We  now  come  to  the  second  division  of 
Korean  history  and  its  Buddhism,  that  of 
the  Koryu  Dynasty.  You  remember  that 
General  Wang-on,  when  his  royal  master 
went  crazy  and  the  officials  revolted,  seized 
the  kingly  power.  He  removed  the  capi- 
tal to  Songdo.  Silla  quickly  went  to  its 
final  fall  and  the  new  kingdom  controlled 
the  whole  peninsula.  Wang-on  realized 
perfectly  that  the  abuse  of  Buddhism  had 
been  the  chief  trouble  with  Kung-ye.  His 
coming  into  power  was  largely  due  to  an 
[18] 


PLATE  \II 
Geomantic  Mast:  Chung-ju 


[Page  6] 


HISTORY 

anti-Buddhistic  movement.  Still,  he  him- 
self was  Buddhist  and  while  he  did  much 
to  check  the  abuses  of  the  religion  he  con- 
tinued to  practise  it  on  a  more  modest 
scale.  At  his  new  capital  he  ended  the  first 
year  of  his  rule,  918,  with  a  famous  festival 
of  which  we  have  a  description. 

There  was  an  enormous  lantern,  hung  about 
with  hundreds  of  others  under  a  tent  made  of  a 
network  of  silken  cords.  Music  was  an  im- 
portant element.  There  were  also  representa- 
tions of  dragons,  birds,  elephants,  horses,  carts 
and  boats.  Dancing  was  prominent  and  there 
were  in  all  a  hundred  forms  of  entertainment. 
Each  official  wore  the  long,  flowing  sleeves, 
and  each  carried  the  ivory  memorandum  tablets. 
The  king  sat  on  a  high  platform  and  watched 
the  entertainment.    (Hulbert. ) 

You  see  he  was  very  far  from  cutting 
loose  from  Buddhism.  In  reality,  the  re- 
ligion flourished  over  the  whole  peninsula. 
When  Wang-on  died  in  942,  he  left  a 
written  message  for  his  son  and  successor. 
It  contained  ten  rules  of  conduct  for  his 
guidance  as  king,  which  were  numbered 
from  one  to  ten.  Three  had  to  do  with 
religion,  and,  of  course,  that  religion  was 
[19] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Buddhism.  In  the  first  rule  he  advised 
his  son  to  continue  to  recognize  Buddhism 
as  the  state  religion.  The  second  rule  was 
that  he  should  build  no  more  monasteries. 
While  it  was  a  good  thing  to  continue 
Buddhism,  it  was  a  bad  thing  to  build 
more  monasteries,  as  too  much  money  had 
already  been  expended  upon  them.  The 
sixth  of  the  rules  was  for  the  establish- 
ment of  an  annual  Buddhist  festival  of  the 
same  nature  as  the  one  he  had  celebrated 
at  the  end  of  his  first  year.  So  Wang-on 
did  not  destroy  Buddhism  but  continued  it. 
In  course  of  time  the  old  religion  re- 
gained much  of  its  harmful  and  destruc- 
tive influence.  From  history  we  may  cull 
a  few  events  that  illustrate  its  power. 
About  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury there  came  from  China  a  fuller  devel- 
opment of  Confucianism  than  had  before 
existed.  About  1026  this  influence  be- 
came very  strong;  the  official  class,  as 
was  natural,  was  Confucianist;  it  organized 
and  directed  governmental  action;  between 
the  officials,  Confucianists,  and  the  priests, 
Buddhists,  there  grew  up  a  deadly  conflict 
[20] 


HISTORY 

which  lasted  on  through  all  the  oenturies. 
In  1036  the  king  was  devoutly  Buddhistic. 
He  "decreed  that  if  a  man  had  four  sons 
one  of  them  must  become  a  monk;  because 
of  the  Buddhist  canon  against  the  spilling 
of  blood,  the  death  penalty  was  changed  to 
banishment;  another  great  annual  festival 
was  instituted.  The  king  also  encouraged 
the  custom  of  having  boys  go  about  the 
streets  with  Buddhistic  books  on  their 
backs  from  which  the  monks  read  aloud 
as  they  went  along,  to  secure  blessings  for 
the  people."    (Hulbert.) 

In  1046  it  is  said  the  king  fed  and  lodged 
ten  thousand  monks  in  his  palace.  In  1056 
or  thereabouts  one  son  out  of  three  was 
compelled  to  become  a  monk.  In  1136  it 
is  said  that  thirty  thousand  monks  were 
present  at  a  single  ceremony. 

Under  such  circumstances,  what  would 
happen?  When  a  religion  had  such  a  hold 
on  the  community  —  building  splendid 
monasteries,  erecting  great  temples,  mak- 
ing idols  into  whose  construction  gilt  of 
pure  gold  entered  in  quantity,  making 
bells  of  metal  that  might  have  been  better 
[21] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

used  for  practical  ends,  draining  the  people 
of  wealth  by  giving  enormous  properties 
eternally  into  the  possession  of  religious 
establishments — -3.  crash  was  bound  to 
come.  It  came  in  Korea.  The  country 
had  been  drained;  the  people  had  been 
heavily  burdened ;  the  men  who  as  monks 
and  priests  should  have  led  in  instruction 
and  good  living  were  notorious  examples 
of  profligacy  and  corruption. 

At  last,  in  1392,  a  man  arose  who  fought 
against  the  king.  The  excuse  for  his  fight- 
ing was  the  fact  that  the  government  was 
given  over  to  a  corrupt  religion.  Just  as 
before  it  was  the  successful  general  who 
became  the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty;  in 
this  case  also  he  had  been  loyal  at  first  to 
the  deposed  king.  The  man's  name  was 
Yi,  and  his  title  Tajo,  and  he  is  commonly 
known  in  Korea  as  Yi-Tajo.  He  is  revered 
as  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  which  has 
just  ended.  In  1392  the  old  kingdom  of 
Korai  disappeared  and  with  it  the  dynasty 
of  Koryu,  and  in  their  place  came  the 
modern  Chosen  and  the  Yi  Dynasty.  Seoul 
became  the  new  capital. 
[22] 


PLATE  \iii 
The  Buddha:  cave  temple,  Sukkul-am 

(Page  il] 


HISTORY 

Before  we  leave  this  period  let  me  say 
something  about  miriok  and  printing- 
blocks.  The  word  miriok  has  given  me 
considerable  trouble;  I  cannot  learn 
whether  it  is  a  Korean  or  a  Japanese  word, 
or  what  was  its  first  meaning,  or  whether 
it  has  anything  to  do  with  the  word 
Miroku,  the  name  of  "the  coming  Bud- 
dha." Anyway  the  name  miriok  is  applied 
in  Korea  to  a  stone  that  is  worshipped;  it 
is  sometimes  a  natural  stone  and  sometimes 
artificially  shaped  to  more  or  less  of  the 
form  of  a  Buddha.  There  are  thousands 
of  them  in  Korea.  There  are  big  miriok 
and  little.  My  belief  is  that  they  were  at 
first  simple,  natural  stones,  with  something 
about  their  shape  which  was  suggestive. 
They  might  be  natural  pinnacles,  or 
rounded  forms.  Probably  the  old  Koreans, 
long  before  the  days  of  Buddhism,  wor- 
shipped such  stones  and  chiefly  in  order 
that  the  family  might  be  increased.  It  was 
probably  barren  women  and  childless  men 
who  went  to  miriok  and  prayed  for  chil- 
dren. Then  came  Buddhism  and  took  over 
the  stone-worship  of  the  olden  time.    Later 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

those  miriok  which  were  artificially  shaped 
to  human  form  —  Buddha-like  —  came  into 
being.  Were  there  time,  we  would  speak 
of  various  of  the  larger  miriok  in  Korea, 
like  the  great  pair  at  Paju  and  the  couple 
at  Ansung.  Of  the  largest,  however,  that 
at  Eunjin,-  we  will  say  something.  There 
are  many  strange  stories  connected  with  it. 
It  is  apparently  a  natural  pinnacle  of  rock, 
which  has  been  carved  into  the  shape  of  a 
Buddha;  it  is  more  than  fifty  feet  high  and 
can  be  seen  from  a  great  distance;  it  is 
more  than  nine  hundred  years  old;  in  its 
present  form  it  is  even  to-day  worshipped 
by  thousands  of  people;  in  the  past  there 
have  been  times  when  tens  of  thousands 
gathered  at  once  to  worship  it.  (Plate  X.) 
It  is  said  that  the  stone  suddenly  ap- 
peared, pushing  up  from  the  ground  and 
that  it  cried  out  with  the  voice  of  a  boy; 
it  was  seen  by  a  woman  who  was  gathering 
ferns  for  eating;  when  she  reported  the 
miracle  it  was  confirmed  by  an  official 
inspection  after  which  orders  were  given 
that  it  should  be  carved  to  its  present 
form. 

[24] 


PLATE  IX 
BODHISATTVA    FIGURE,  SuKKUL-AM 


[Page  li] 


HISTORY 

No  land  surpasses  Korea  in  its  abun- 
dance of  local  tales.  Every  hill,  valley, 
conspicuous  rock,  stream  and  pool  of 
water  has  its  story.  Every  miriok  of 
prominence  in  the  country  has  traditions 
associated  with  it.  The  one  most  com- 
monly told  of  this  great  miriok  runs  as 
follows :  A  country  man  who  had  been  to 
the  capital,  returning  to  his  home  passed 
this  great  stone  figure.  He  noticed  a  pear 
tree  growing  from  the  head,  which  bore 
several  fine  pears.  The  thought  occurred 
to  him  to  carry  one  of  these  to  his  village 
as  a  present  for  the  magistrate.  With 
infinite  difficulty  he  climbed  up  the  smooth 
surface  of  the  figure,  —  the  magnitude  of 
the  achievement  will  be  evident  from  an 
inspection  of  the  picture.  When  he 
reached  the  face  and  climbed  over  the  lips 
he  hesitated  as  to  whether  to  pass  up 
through  the  nostril,  —  a  foolish  procedure 
as  it  was  a  blind  passage,  —  or  climb  around 
the  nose.  He  decided  upon  the  former 
method  and  proceeded  to  worm  his  way 
into  the  opening.  He  experienced  a 
mighty  shock  and,  when  he  came  to  him- 

[  25  1 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

self,  found  that  he  was  lying  on  the  ground. 
His  presence  in  the  nostril  had  irritated 
the  figure  which  had  sneezed,  thus  throw- 
ing him  to  the  earth.  Ruefully  rubbing 
his  bruises,  he  looked  upward  at  the  figure 
regretful  for  his  lost  efifort.  But  he  had 
after  all  been  fortunate  and  the  same  sneeze 
which  had  dislodged  him  had  shaken  one 
of  the  pears  from  the  tree  and  it  had  fallen 
on  the  grass  near  by.  Picking  it  up  he 
hastened  on  his  way  rejoicing. 

The  second  item  connected  with  this 
period  to  which  I  wish  to  refer  is  the  cut- 
ting of  wood-blocks  for  printing  the  entire 
Buddhist  scriptures.  The  set  of  blocks  is 
still  preserved  in  the  ancient  monastery  of 
Hain-sa.  They  were  made  during  the 
reign  of  King  Kojong  and  are  seven  hun- 
dred years  old.  There  are  eighty-one  thou- 
sand of  these  blocks  and  each  of  them  prints 
an  entire  page  of  a  Buddhist  text.  Al- 
together they  print  six  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  five  volumes,  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  eleven  different  works.  A 
special  building  is  devoted  to  their  pres- 
ervation and  they  have  been  taken  over  by 
[26] 


>-3 
< 

z 
w 

O 


HISTORY 

the  Japanese  government  as  National 
Treasure.  (Plates  XII,  XIII.)  The  blocks 
are  said  to  represent  the  work  of  monks 
through  fifteen  years  and  the  set  is  reputed 
the  best  in  the  world.  Several  years  ago 
Count  General  Terauchi  ordered  several 
copies  of  the  Tripitaka  printed  from  these 
blocks.  One  of  these  copies  was  presented 
to  the  Emperor  and  a  second  is  preserved 
in  the  temple,  Senyu-ji,  Kyoto. 
_Yi-Tajo  came  to  power  through  an  anti- 
Buddhist  movement.  Yet  on  the  whole  he 
dealt  leniently  with  the  religion.  He 
crippled  it  but  did  not  destroy  it.  Through 
the  greater  part  of  the  Yi  Dynasty,  how- 
ever. Buddhism  was  at  serious  disadvan- 
tage. Only  for  a  short  time  under  the  king 
Seijo  did  it  have  a  momentary  revival.  He 
ruled  from  1456  to  1468.  During  his 
reign  a  splendid  temple  was  built  in  Seoul 
of  which  we  have  an  interesting  contem- 
porary description;  '  no  sign  of  it  remains 
to-day,  but  the  beautiful  pagoda  erected 
at  the  same  time,  and  the  turtle-borne 
monumental  stone  recording  the  occasion 
of  its  construction  are  in  existence  in  Pa- 
[27] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

goda  Park  at  the  center  of  the  city.^  This 
pious  king  was  succeeded  in  1469  by  his 
young  son,  Chasan.  His  mother,  the  late 
king's  widow,  was  at  first  his  regent  but  in 
1472  he  took  the  actual  reins  of  power  and 
almost  his  first  act  was  to  drive  Buddhism 
out  of  Seoul.  He  not  only  abolished  all 
the  monasteries  and  temples  in  the  capital 
city,  but  in  every  city  and  town  through- 
out the  kingdom.  The  priests  took  refuge 
in  the  mountains  and  from  that  time  down 
until  these  latter  days  there  have  been  no 
Buddhist  temples  in  Korean  cities.  There 
have  only  been  monasteries  in  the  moun- 
tains, often  in  inaccessible  places. 

Those  were  drastic  measures  and  under 
them  Korean  Buddhism  suffered  and  sank 
to  lowest  ebb.  It  passed  through  hard 
times  during  four  hundred  years  and  more 
of  exile.  Still  the  religion  was  not  dead, 
and  during  this  period  of  test  it  even 
showed  some  signs  of  worth. 

In  1592,  Hideyoshi  sent  his  great  army 

from   Japan   to    conquer    Korea.      It   was 

under  two  generals,  one  a  Christian  and 

the    other     a     Buddhist.       The     invaders 

[28] 


0^    o 


HISTORY 

wrought  great  destruction  in  the  unfor- 
tunate peninsula.  Many  of  the  temples 
and  monasteries  in  the  mountains  were 
destroyed,  altars  were  stripped  of  treasures, 
monks  and  priests  driven  from  their  sanc- 
tuaries. During  this  invasion  some  of  the 
priests  showed  themselves  loyal,  thus  Hul- 
hert  tells  us: 

Hyu-Chung,  known  throughout  the  Eight 
Provinces  as  the  great  teacher  of  Sosan,  was 
a  man  of  great  natural  ability  as  well  as  of 
great  learning.  His  pupils  were  numbered  by 
thousands  and  were  found  in  every  province. 
He  called  together  two  thousand  of  them  and 
appeared  before  the  king  at  Euiju  and  said: 
"We  are  of  the  common  people,  but  we  are 
all  the  king's  servants  and  two  thousand  of  us 
have  come  to  die  for  Your  Majesty."  The 
king  was  much  pleased  by  this  demonstration  of 
loyalty  and  made  Hyu-Chung  a  Priest-General 
and  told  him  to  go  into  camp  at  Pop-Heung 
Monastery.  He  did  so,  and  from  that  point 
sent  out  a  call  to  all  the  monasteries  in  the  land. 
In  Chulla  province  was  a  warrior-monk,  Ch'oe- 
Yung  and  at  Diamond  Mountain  another  named 
Yu-Chung.  These  came  with  over  a  thousand 
followers  and  went  into  camp  a  few  miles  to 
the  East  of  P'yeng-Yang.  They  had  no  in- 
[29] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

tention  of  engaging  in  actual  battle,  but  they 
acted  as  spies,  took  charge  of  the  commissariat 
and  made  themselves  generally  useful.  During 
battle  they  stood  behind  the  troops  and  shouted 
encouragement.  Yu-Chung,  trusting  to  his 
priestly  garb,  went  into  P'yeng-Yang  to  see  the 
Japanese  generals. 

Thus  we  see,  that  notwithstanding  the 
condition  of  poverty,  ignorance  and  unim- 
portance to  which  the  Buddhist  monks 
had  sunk  there  were  still  among  them 
teachers  of  great  learning  with  crowds  of 
students,  who  were  ready  to  serve  their 
king  in  his  hour  of  trial. 

In  1660  a  curious  condition  had  arisen. 
With  these  mountain  monasteries  open  to 
all  who  came,  they  had  become  a  refuge 
for  the  disaffected.  Suppose  a  man  had 
trouble  with  his  family,  he  would  become 
religious  and  retire  to  a  monastery  as  a 
monk;  if  a  man  failed  in  business,  he  might 
find  refuge  there;  for  one  reason  or  another 
it  was  easy  for  a  man  who  was  vicious  or  a 
failure  or  unhappy  to  seek  escape  in  the 
mountain  monasteries.  Thousands  flocked 
to  them  until  the  government  became  dis- 


HISTORY 

turbed  and  about  1660  the  king  issued  an 
edict  "that  no  more  men  with  family  ties 
should  desert  them  in  this  way  and  that 
all  monks  who  had  families  living  should 
doff  their  religious  garb  and  come  back 
to  the  world  and  support  their  families 
like  honest  men." 

Notwithstanding  neglect,  poverty,  and 
limitations  the  monasteries  showed  remark- 
able recuperative  power  after  the  destruc- 
tion wrought  by  Hideyoshi's  armies.  Thus, 
Pawpchu-sa  was  practically  destroyed  and 
the  great  mass  of  fine  buildings  now  there 
has  been  constructed  since.  Some  of  the 
great  monasteries  farther  south  also  suf- 
fered severely;  yet  the  damage  has  been 
fully  repaired.    (Plate  II.) 

Nor  did  scholarship  completely  disap- 
pear in  these  later  years.  When  Dr.  Legge 
translated  Fa-hien's  diary  into  English,  he 
had  four  editions  of  the  work  at  hand  — 
two  Chinese,  one  Japanese  and  one  Ko- 
rean; the  latter,  which  bears  the  date  1726, 
was  the  most  satisfactory  and  was  superior 
as  a  piece  of  book-making. 

[31] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM: 
CONDITION 

WITH  the  exile  of  Buddhism  to  the 
mountains  several  results  ensued. 
In  the  first  place  each  monastery 
became  a  thing  by  itself;  there  was  no 
unity,  no  combination,  no  force  in  the 
movement  of  Buddhism  as  such,  over  the 
kingdom.  In  the  second  place,  not  being 
permitted  to  enter  the  cities,  the  Buddhist 
priests  came  to  be  looked  upon  with  con- 
tempt by  the  people;  they  were,  of  course, 
beggars,  vowed  to  poverty  —  they  had  al- 
ways been  that,  but  they  had  had  respect; 
with  their  seclusion  in  the  mountain  mon- 
asteries they  lost  what  honor  had  been 
attributed  to  them;  they  became  ignorant, 
vicious   and   depraved. 

In   his  History   of  Korea   Dr.    Hulbert 
says: 

"  In  1902,  a  very  determined  attempt  to  re- 
vive the  Buddhist  cult  was  made.   The  Emperor 

[32] 


CONDITION 

consented  to  the  establishment  of  a  great  cen- 
tral monastery  for  the  whole  country  in  the 
vicinity  of  Seoul,  and  in  it  a  Buddhist  high 
priest  who  was  to  control  the  whole  church  in 
the  land.  It  was  a  ludicrous  attempt,  because 
Buddhism  in  Korea  is  dead." 

Remember  at  just  what  point  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  nation  this  effort  to  restore 
Buddhism  took  place.  Japan's  war  against 
China  was  declared  in  1894;  it  ended  in 
1895,  with  the  treaty  of  Shimonoseki;  it 
was  one  of  the  most  important  wars  of 
recent  times;  it  was  fought  over  Korea  — 
in  order  to  see  whether  Korea  owed  al- 
legiance to  China  or  was  an  independent 
nation.  From  1895  on,  Korea  was  a  hot- 
bed of  world  intrigue.  China,  Russia, 
Japan,  all  were  struggling  on  the  peninsula 
for  a  continued  foothold.  Each  was  trying 
to  gain  advantage.  From  this  condition,  in 
1904  came  the  great  war  between  Japan 
and  Russia,  which  was  ended  by  the  treaty 
of  Portsmouth.  It  too,  was  a  war  on 
account  of  Korea.  It  decided  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  Russian,  or  Chinese,  or 
Japanese  influence  should  preponderate. 
[33] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

The  year  1902  came  right  between  those 
two  great  wars,  which  were  fought  on 
account  of  Korea.  In  1902  the  man  who 
had  been  King  —  the  last  real  representa- 
tive of  the  Yi  Dynasty  had  become  Em- 
peror. One  of  the  results  of  the  war  of 
1894  was  to  make  Korea  an  empire,  and 
her  king  an  emperor.  The  efifort  to  re- 
establish and  revive  Buddhism  was  made 
then  during  this  period  of  the  empire. 

The  passage  quoted  from  Hulbert  was 
printed  in  1905.  It  referred  to  an  attempt 
made  in  1902,  which  he  says  failed,  since 
Buddhism  was  dead.  To-day  is  1918.  I 
have  been  visiting  Korea  since  1911  and 
have  seen  what  seems  to  be  definite  growth 
and  revival  of  the  old  religion.  Buddhism 
appears  to-day  to  be  very  far  from  dead  in 
Korea.  It  shows  signs  of  active  life  and 
there  may  be  prospects  of  its  future  growth 
and  large  development. 

The  monasteries  of  Korea  are  under 
control  of  thirty  head  monasteries.^  Some 
of  these  have  only  two  or  three  unimpor- 
tant subordinate  monasteries,  but  others 
are  the  heads  of  really  great  groups.  For 
[34] 


Oh 


O 

o 
_] 
n 
I 

Q 
O 
O 

a 

H 

o 

o 
g 

Q 
I-) 

3 


CONDITION 

instance,  Yuchom-sa,  in  the  heart  of  the 
Diamond  Mountains,  is  the  head  of  forty 
monasteries  in  that  remarkable  mass  of 
peaks  (Plates  III,  XVII)  ;  Pongeum-sa, 
which  is  near  Seoul,  is  said  to  be  the  head 
of  eighty-six  monasteries.  These  head 
monasteries  in  1902  had  become  greatly 
reduced  in  property,  membership,  influ- 
ence and  splendor.  They  were  estranged 
from  each  other.  There  was  no  feeling  of 
unity  among  them.  Each  monastery  was 
a  thing  by  itself  and  decay  and  corruption 
were  everywhere  evident. 

But  about  six  years  ago  the  priests  of  these 
thirty  head  monasteries  came  together; 
they  held  a  great  meeting  and  discussed 
their  common  interests;  they  decided 
that  union  was  necessary  and  a  forward 
movement,  a  thing  such  as  was  tried 
in  1902  and  which  failed  then.  It  was 
tried  again  and  has  not  failed.  They 
elected  a  president  of  their  commission, 
with  a  term  of  office  of  one  year.  His 
whole  time  is  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
united  Korean  Buddhism  for  that  year. 
(Plate  I.)  They  bought  property  in  the 
[35] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

city  of  Seoul  and  erected  a  central  build- 
ing, partly  temple  and  partly  office  build- 
ing. The  expenses  of  this  head  office  are 
borne  by  the  thirty  temples  in  proportion 
to  their  importance  and  wealth.  The 
monasteries  are  graded  into  five  groups  and 
each  contributes  annually  a  set  sum  for 
the  advancement  of  Buddhism  in  the 
peninsula. 

While  in  Seoul  last  year,  I  visited  a 
theological  seminary  of  Buddhism.  It 
has  a  good  location  in  a  desirable  part  of 
the  city;  it  occupies  a  fine  old  Korean 
building;  it  has  a  corps  of  teachers  of  some 
ability;  I  found  sixty-five  students  in  at- 
tendance. The  institution  had  been  run- 
ning for  about  three  years.  Most  of  the 
students  were  already  connected  with  some 
of  the  mountain  monasteries;  they  had 
come  in  for  information,  for  improvement, 
for  further  study;  they  were  looking  for- 
ward to  return  to  their  temples  with  new 
strength  and  vigor  for  their  work.  The 
young  men  with  whom  I  talked  seemed  to 
be  earnestly  interested  and  anxious  for  im- 
provement. A  definite  course  of  three 
[  36  ] 


CONDITION 

years  instruction  is  offered  to  them.  The 
number  of  students  has  grown  steadily  and 
no  doubt  the  time  will  come  when  there 
will  be  hundreds  of  students  in  this  institu- 
tion. 

There  is  to-day  a  magazine  conducted  in 
the  interests  of  Korean  Buddhism.  It  has 
been  published  for  something  like  six 
years.  The  history  of  the  editor,  Yi  Nung 
Hwa,  is  rather  interesting.''  His  father  is 
a  pillar  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Seoul,  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the 
mission  churches.  The  young  man  himself 
was  educated  in  Catholic  schools  in  Seoul; 
his  education  came  from  foreigners,  and 
he  is  now  official  interpreter  for  the  Belgian 
Consul;  but  he  finds  his  pleasure  and  out- 
side interest  in  this  magazine  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  Korean  Buddhism.  Son  of  a 
Presbyterian  Elder,  trained  in  Catholic 
schools,  speaking  French,  Korean,  Chinese 
and  Japanese,  professionally  engaged  in 
service  at  a  foreign  consulate,  he  is  the 
editor  of  a  magazine  for  Buddhist  propa- 
ganda! 

Mr.  Yi  is  also  the  author  of  a  history  of 
[37] 


169741 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Korean  Buddhism,  which  had  not  yet  been 
printed  when  I  saw  him.  It  is,  I  think,  the 
only  history  that  has  been  written  cover- 
ing the  entire  field  of  Korean  Buddhism. 
Everything  that  is  printed  in  Korea  must 
pass  under  the  eye  of  the  Japanese  govern- 
ment, and  can  be  printed  only  with  its  per- 
mission. It  makes  no  difiference  whether 
the  material  is  secular  or  religious,  social, 
economic,  literary  or  political.  At  the 
time  when  we  were  speaking  about  his 
book  it  had  been  sent  in  to  the  government 
for  examination.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  it 
was  approved  and  that  permission  was 
given  for  its  publication.  A  book  of  that 
kind  would  have  importance  and  no  such 
book  exists,  in  any  modern  form  certainly, 
for  popular  reading. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  in  con- 
nection with  this  modern  movement  of 
Korean  Buddhism,  and  one  which  seems 
to  show  that  it  has  real  vitality,  is  the  fact 
that  Buddhist  books  for  common  reading 
are  being  printed.  Most  Korean  books  are 
printed  in  Chinese  characters  and  are  thus 
sealed  to  the  common  people;  they  can  be 
[38] 


CONDITION 

read  only  by  scholars  or  people  of  con- 
siderable education.  Yet  Korea  is  said  to 
have  invented  one  of  the  most  perfect  sys- 
tems of  writing  that  the  world  has  seen.  It 
is  known  as  the  on-mtin  and  is  competent 
to  write  the  language  perfectly  and  easily. 
But  scholars  in  Korea  have  never  used  the 
on-mun;  it  has  been  considered  suitable 
only  for  the  ignorant,  for  women  and  chil- 
dren. If  a  book  is  to  reach  the  common 
people,  however,  and  be  widely  read,  it 
should  be  printed  in  on-mun.  The  books 
issued  by  the  foreign  missionaries  in  their 
propaganda  have  been  printed  in  on-mun, 
or  in  a  mixed  script  of  Chinese  character 
and  on-mun.  The  fact  that  several  Bud- 
dhist books  have  recently  appeared  printed 
in  on-mun  shows  that  Korean  Buddhism  is 
reaching  out  after  the  common  people. 

Two  of  these  books  deserve  special  men- 
tion. One  is  called  the  ''  Eight  Scenes  from 
the  Life  of  Buddha."  It  follows  quite 
closely  the  story  of  Buddha's  life  as  told  in 
other  countries.  The  book  is  widely  offered 
at  book  stores  and  street  stalls  and  is  said 
to  have  considerable  sale.  More  interest- 
[39] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

ing  than  it,  however,  is  the  allegory  called 
Sei-yeu-ki.  You  remember  that  in  the 
seventh  century  a  Chinese  pilgrim,  Hiouen 
Tsiang,  went  on  foot  from  China  to  India, 
and  that  he  came  back  loaded  with  books 
and  images  for  use  in  religious  worship. 
That  pilgrim  was  really  a  historic  char- 
acter, and  he  wrote  an  account  of  his 
journey,  a  simple  and  charming  diary  of 
travel.  His  book  was  called  Sei-yeu-ki, 
which  in  its  English  translation  appears 
under  the  title  of  "A  Report  of  Buddhist 
Kingdoms."  In  it  he  described  the  coun- 
tries through  which  he  had  passed,  the 
monasteries  and  temples  which  he  had  seen, 
and  the  adventures  he  had  undergone. 
Now  in  the  thirteenth  century  a  Chinese 
monk  wrote  a  book  with  almost  the  same 
name.  As  pronounced  there  is  scarcely 
any  difference;  when  the  names  are  written 
they  are  easily  distinguished.  The  writer  in- 
tended to  imitate  the  name  of  the  diary  of 
the  old  pilgrim.  In  his  story,  he  says  that 
a  certain  man  named  Hiouen-Tsiang  —  he 
uses  the  actual  name  of  the  old  pilgrim  — 
goes  on  a  journey  to  the  West  for  books, 
[40] 


CONDITION 

idols  and  information,  just  as  the  real 
pilgrim  did;  but  instead  of  telling  a  true 
and  simple  story  this  man  writes  an  alle- 
gory something  of  the  nature  of  "  Pilgrim's 
Progress."  It  is  full  of  astonishing  adven- 
tures. It  seems  that  the  Emperor  of  China 
died  and  came  to  life  again.  He  deter- 
mined to  send  Hiouen-Tsiang,  "the  Mas- 
ter," to  the  West  for  books,  idols  and 
pictures.  The  Master  started  upon  his 
errand  and  as  he  travelled  picked  up  a 
strange  group  of  comrades.  The  Emperor 
had  given  him  a  white  horse,  and  of  course 
he  had  to  have  a  boy  to  take  care  of  it;  in 
addition  he  had  for  companions  and  helpers 
a  monkey  and  a  pig.  The  master  and  his 
three  human  companions  were  gone,  like  the 
real  pilgrim,  about  fifteen  years;  they  trav- 
elled, of  course,  through  the  same  countries, 
but  had  startling  adventures.  The  master 
was  very  pious,  but  unpractical;  in  fact  he 
was  a  weak  subject  for  the  hero  of  a  story. 
But  the  monkey  was  fine,  and  when  they  got 
into  trouble  it  was  always  the  monkey  who 
rescued  them.  When  the  master,  through 
his  lack  of  knowledge,  and  practical  ex- 
[41] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

perience,  was  caught  by  the  most  palpable 
traps  and  tricks  only  the  monkey  could  rescue 
him.  Yet  they  all  abused  the  poor  creature. 
All  were  jealous  of  him  and  on  the  slightest 
occasion  pig  or  boy  or  horse  urged  the 
master  to  make  the  magic  hat  equipped 
with  thorns  and  pins  squeeze  and  hurt  the 
monkey's  head  in  order  "  that  he  shall  not 
become  proud."  It  is  really  an  interesting 
and  beautiful  allegory.  It  has  recently  been 
translated  into  English  by  a  missionary  in 
China  and  anyone  who  wishes  may  read  it. 
For  hundreds  of  years  it  has  been  read  in 
the  original  Chinese  by  Chinese,  Koreans 
and  Japanese.  To-day  Koreans  may  read 
it  in  their  own  language,  printed  in  on- 
miin. 

All  these  signs  of  life  seem  to  show  that 
Korean  Buddhism  is  far  from  dead.  It  is 
coming  forth  from  its  mountain  exile  and 
bids  fair  to  make  itself  felt  in  the  future. 

Let  us  examine  for  a  moment  the  or- 
ganization of  an  ordinary  monastery.  The 
monasteries  are  scattered  through  the  moun- 
tains. Many  of  them  are  in  remote  places 
and  it  is  difficult  to  reach  them.  Some  are 
[42] 


CONDITION 

SO  far  back  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
them  to  go  farther.  I  have  no  fears  that  ordi- 
nary tourists  will  spoil  my  delight  in  Pawp- 
chu-sa,  or  Hain-sa,  or  Yu-chom-sa.  If  one 
desires  to  see  them  he  must  pay  the  price. 
Take  Pawpchu-sa  for  instance.  To  see  it 
we  dismounted  from  the  railroad  train  and 
took  a  Ford  car  across  country  ten  miles 
to  a  little  district  capital;  the  next  day,  by 
government  automobile,  we  went  out  over 
a  road  which  had  just  been  put  in  good 
order  —  there  was  only  one  break  in  it 
that  was  serious;  for  forty  miles  we  trav- 
elled over  this  mountain  road,  deeper  and 
deeper  among  the  hills,  up  and  up  into  the 
narrowing  valley,  until  with  mountains  on 
all  sides  of  us  we  reached  the  village  of 
Poun.  There  we  abandoned  the  automo- 
bile. The  party  went  by  horses,  but  a  chair 
had  been  provided  for  my  benefit.  I  hate 
chairs,  and  would  have  much  preferred  a 
horse,  though  Korean  horses  are  little 
creatures  and  disagreeable.  Their  gait  is 
as  bad  as  anything  one  can  imagine;  there 
is  nothing  like  a  saddle,  but  only  a  broad 
cushion,  without  stirrups,  and  the  trav- 
[43] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

cUer's  legs  hang  down  over  the  front  of 
the  cushion,  one  foot  on  each  side  of  the 
horse's  neck  and  the  rider  has  no  control 
whatever  over  the  horse;  nor  has  anyone 
else,  although  the  mapu,  or  "boy,"  runs 
along  beside  and  hangs  on  to  the  halter  or 
strikes  the  beast  with  stick  or  whip.  I  hate 
a  Korean  horse,  but  I  hate  a  chair  worse. 
However,  we  started,  the  rest  on  horses. 
When  we  had  gone  about  half  a  mile  the 
chair  carriers,  though  professionals,  de- 
clared they  could  go  no  farther;  this,  of 
course,  was  a  mere  question  of  weight;  it 
was,  however,  a  great  relief  to  me. 
Promptly  an  exchange  was  made  with  my 
little  Japanese  photographer  and  inter- 
preter, who  took  the  chair,  while  I  mounted 
his  horse  —  the  smallest  and  weakest  of  the 
outfit.  We  travelled  on  and  on  for  miles; 
we  passed  one  ridge  behind  another  and 
another  and  another,  until  at  last  we 
reached  Pawpchu-sa.  Anyone  who  really 
journeys  to  Pawpchu-sa  has  my  regard  and 
blessing. 

The  trip  to  Hain-sa,  where  the  wood- 
blocks are  preserved,  is  a  trying  one.    We 
[44] 


PLATE  XIV 
Great  Buddha  relief  on  rock  face  :  Inner  Kongo 

[Page  70] 


CONDITION 

went  by  basha.  Japanese  has  has  are  bad; 
the  Japanese  themselves  think  them  far 
superior  to  Korean,  but  1  prefer  the  latter. 
A  hasha  is  made  for  six  passengers,  but 
usually  carries  eight.  The  Japanese  basha 
has  two  benches  running  lengthwise  at  the 
sides;  three  persons  fill  a  bench,  four  over- 
fill one.  The  driver  sits  in  front  and  a 
single  horse  moves  the  conveyance.  Such 
is  the  Japanese  basha.  The  Korean  vehicle 
has  no  benches  at  the  sides  like  the  Japanese 
affair;  the  passengers  sit  upon  the  floor 
with  thin,  rush  mats  under  them,  probably 
to  keep  the  floor  of  the  vehicle  clean;  there 
are  no  springs  and  the  roads  are  rough. 
After  travelling  sitting  on  the  springless 
floor  for  thirty-two  miles,  we  abandoned 
the  basha,  as  there  was  no  longer  a  cart- 
road,  and  rode  about  seventeen  miles  on 
horses;  it  was  like  travelling  over  Mexican 
trails.  Thus  we  reached  Hain-sa.  I  do  not 
begrudge  a  visit  to  Hain-sa  to  any  person; 
those  who  make  the  journey  deserve  to  be 
treated  as  friends  and  brothers. 

Each   monastery   has    its    oflicial   corps. 
First  comes   the  head   priest.     He   has   a 
[45] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

hard  time  of  it.  He  has  to  deal  with  the 
outside  world  and  to  oversee  everything; 
he  is  business  manager;  he  has  little  to  do 
with  spiritual  direction,  but  has  to  settle 
all  the  quarrels  and  deal  with  all  the 
problems  that  present  themselves  to  the 
monastery;  he  gets  all  the  hard  work  and 
shoulders  all  the  blame.  He  receives,  how- 
ever, some  extra  rice  and  is  entitled  to  an 
extraordinary  exhibition  of  respect.  He 
has  a  councillor  to  help  him  in  problems 
of  a  serious  nature.  Next  comes  the  re- 
ligious head,  who  leads  the  services  and 
sees  that  they  are  properly  observed.  The 
first  religious  service  of  the  day  comes  at 
three  o'clock  A.M.  At  that  hour  the  visitor 
hears  the  bells  and  gongs  and  the  droning 
of  songs  and  prayers.  The  people  of  the 
monastery  all  turn  out  to  early  service. 
There  may  be  other  services  throughout 
the  day;  there  are  also  times  of  meditation, 
and  in  special  halls,  where  no  disturbance 
is  permitted,  persons  spend  hours  or  entire 
days  in  silence  and  pious  thought.  There 
is  always  a  steward  whose  business  it  is  to 
ittend  to  the  food  supply  of  the  entire 
[  46  ] 


CONDITION 

monastery.  In  a  monastery  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  or  two  hundred  persons  in  a  re- 
mote mountain  district,  the  steward's  work 
is  important  and  exacting.  At  every  mon- 
astery there  are,  of  course,  one  or  two  cooks, 
whose  business  it  is  to  prepare  the  food. 
There  is  regularly  also,  a  group  of  little 
fellows,  boys  from  ten  to  fifteen  years  of 
age,  whose  business  it  is  to  help  these  others 
on  every  occasion  when  help  is  needed. 
These  boys  have  little  in  the  way  of  re- 
ligious duties,  but  sweeping  and  cleaning- 
errands,  burden  carrying  and  hard  work 
in  general  falls  on  them.     (Plate  XI.) 

The  balance  of  the  population  in  a  mon- 
astery is  devoted  to  religious  living.  These 
include  three  different  kinds  of  persons  — 
priests,  acolytes  and  orphans.  The  mon- 
asteries have  always  been  orphan  asvlums. 
When  a  child  in  the  country  around  is  left 
without  parents  or  other  proper  guardians 
he  is  usuallv  sent  to  the  mountain  mon- 
astery; unless  the  unexpected  happens  he 
will  grow  up  in  the  wav  of  religion  and  be- 
come a  priest  or  monk  when  the  time 
arrives. 

[47] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Many  young  men  come  in  from  the  out- 
side   world    for    purposes    of    instruction. 
They  look  forward  to  becoming  monks,  but 
^  during  their  period  of  study  they  let  their 
"^air  grow  long,  dress  as  outsiders  and  are 
/regarded  as  still  belonging  to  the  world. 
\  Most  of   them,   however,   carry  out  their 
/  intention  and   remain  permanently  in  the 
'  monastery.    Thirdly,  there  are  the  regular 
monks  and  priests.     They  are  dressed,  of 
course,    in   characteristic    style,    and    their 
heads  are  shaved.    They  live  on  vegetarian 
food  and  are  vowed  to  celibacy.     At  some 
of  the  more  important  monasteries  there  is 
a  resident  teacher,  but  most  of  them  depend 
upon  a  teacher  sent  from  the  head  temple. 
The  greeting  given  him  when  he  arrives  is 
beautiful  to  see.    All  know  when  he  is  ex- 
pected,  and   at  the   hour   they  go   in  pro- 
cession, dressed  in  their  best  robes,  out  to 
the  farthest  gate  to  meet  him.     When  he 
arrives   all   but  the  head   priest   prostrate 
themselves  so  that  they  actually  grovel  in 
the  dust.     Then,  accompanying  him,  with 
\the  head  priest  walking  before,  the  whole 
company  goes  back  to  the  monastery  and 
[  48  ] 


P-, 


CONDITION 

the  teaching  almost  immediately  begins. 
He  barely  takes  a  little  refreshment  and 
rests  a  bit  before  he  undertakes  his  duties. 
During  the  period  of  his  stay  the  teaching 
continues  throughout  the  day.  One  class 
or  group  comes  in  after  another;  the  teach- 
ing is  sometimes  from  books,  sometimes 
from  the  teacher's  own  experience  an 
knowledge. 

Are  the  monasteries  really  places  of  great 
learning;  are  they  centers  of  deep  piety? 
It  is  hard  to  tell  and  much  depends  on  one's 
definition. 

We  must  remember  that  there  are  two 
vastly  dififerent  kinds  of  Buddhism.  They 
are  almost  opposite;  the  one  is  certainly 
the  negation  of  the  other.  The  first  is  the 
Buddhism  which  the  actual  Buddha  taught. 
You  remember  that  he  was  an  historic 
character,  who  lived  at  about  five  hundred 
years  before  Christ.  An  Indian  prince,  he 
is  known  under  various  names  as  Sakya- 
muni,  Siddartha  and  Gautama.  He  pon- 
dered much  over  the  problems  of  life  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  solution  of  mysteries; 
he  tried  asceticism  and  listened  to  one 
teacher  after  another;  he  wandered,  medi- 
[49] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

/-tated,  fasted;  he  finally  reached  enlighten- 
(    ment.    He  decided  that  life  was  an  illusion 
\and  a  snare  which  one  would  gladly  be  rid 
pf ;  he  discovered  that  the  chain  that  bound 
<|)ne  to  this  existence  could  be  broken.    Re- 
lease comes  from  careful  conduct;  it  comes 
through  right  living,   and   right  thinking; 
/it  comes  in  course  of  time,  after  many  many 
)  existences;  through  right  living  in  one  life 
/  man  gathers  .^^rma  which  carries  him  to 
/  higher  and  higher  stages  until  at  last  he 
/    becomes  a  great  scholar;  finally  he  becomes 
/     a  Bodhisattva,  which  is  but  one  step  from 
/     Buddha-hood;    and   finally,    from   a    Bod- 
hisattva,   through    enlightenment,    he    be- 
l      comes  a  true  Buddha  and  when  his  earthly 
\  life  ends,  passes  out  into  oblivion,  blissful, 
calm  nothingness. 

Buddha  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  world 
teachers.  His  teaching  was  simple;  we 
may  work  out  release  gradually  from  the 
thraldom  into  which  we  are  born;  through 
careful  thought  and  right  living  we  may 
pass  from  stage  to  stage  until  at  last  we 
merge  into  infinity  and  lose  our  individu- 
ality. 

Buddha  taught  that  we  end  in  Nirvana; 
[50] 


PLATE  XVI 

Head-priest  and  Pagoda:  Sinkei-sa,  Diamond 

Mountains 

[Payc  74] 


CONDITION 

his  doctrine  was  a  revolt  against  the  idea 
of  an  individual  soul  that  lives  forever;  in 
his  religion  there  were  no  figures,  no  idols, 
nothing  for  worship.  Buddhism  proper 
taught  nothing  about  gods.  It  simply 
taught  men  to  strive  for  enlightenment, 
to  become  Buddhas  and  to  pass  out  inU 
Nirvana. 

Bja^_this_ia-Jiot  the  Buddhism _gf_XIhina, 
Korea_Qr.. Japan.  The  Buddhism  of  these 
three  countries  recognizes  an  individual 
soul  that  continues.  It  has  scores  of  gods 
and  represents  them  by  images  or  idols;  the 
man  who  lives  to-day  does  not  try  to  work 
out  salvation  for  himself  through  stage 
after  stage  of  higher  living.  On  the  con- 
trary he  seeks  salvation  through  another 
and  that  other  is  Amida  Buddha.  The 
Koreans  call  him  Ajjiida^-EaL-  You  may 
see  them  any  day  standing  outside  the 
temples  repeating  over  and  over  again  the 
formula,  "  NajniL__Amid^_^^I^__Namu 
Amida  Pul,_  Namu  Amida  Pul."  They  are 
thereby  gaining  salvation;  through  faith  in 
Amida  they  will  reach  the  Western  Para- 
dise. There  was  no  Western  Paradise  in 
[51] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Buddha's  teaching;  there  was  no  continued 
ibxistence  of  the  human  soul;  there  was  no 
one  through  whom  men  might  be  saved; 
one  must  work  out  his  own  salvation.  But 
in  this  second  Buddhism,  any  person  in  a 
single  moment  may  gain  salvation.  It 
makes  no  difference  whether  a  man  has  led 
a  good  or  evil  life,  death-bed  repentance 
may  save  him.  A  man  does  nothing  for 
himself;  faith  only  through  the  merit  of 
another    wins     salvation  —  it    sounds    like 

ogd  Presbyterian  doctrine. 
It  is  evident  that  these  two  forms  of 
Buddhism  could  not  diverge  more  widely 
than  they  do.  The  early  Buddhism  taught 
by  Sakyamuni  is  called  Hinayana  or  the 
"Little  Vehicle."  The  other  form  is  known 
as  Mahayana  the  "  Great  Vehicle."     Xa- 

ean  Buddhism^  i s_and, Jo r _the . jnast_parjL_ 
always  has  he,^i\  M ahayjinaj  yet  in  the  Bud- 
dhist temples  of  the  Korean  monasteries 
one  finds  many  a  figure  of  Sakyamuni  and 
the  worshippers  seem  totally  unconscious  of 
their  inconsistency  and  of  the  fact  that 
their  worship  of  Sakya  is  a  contradiction 
in  terms. 

[52] 


CONDITION 

This  leads  us  to  inquire  regarding  sects. 
Japanese  Buddhism  is  divided  into  many. 
Thus  we  may  speak  of  Shingon,  Jodo,  Zen, 
or  Nichiren  Buddhism  there.  Each  of 
these  names  stands  for  a  definite  system  of 
doctrinal  belief.  Every  student  of  Bud- 
dhism in  Japan  knows  the  fundamental 
differences  upon  which  the  dozen  or  more 
Japanese  Buddhist  sects  are  based.  Know- 
ing something  of  these  divisions  in  Japan 
it  was  natural  to  ask  on  coming  into  contact 
with  Korean  Buddhism  what  sects  they 
have.  The  answer  was  always  immediate 
and  glibly  given.  "We  have  two  sects  — 
Syen  and  Kyo^ 

This  was  said  everywhere,  but  I  cannot 
see  that  there  is  anything  in  Korean  Bud- 
dhism like  the  sects  of  Japan.  In  Shingon 
there  is  a  whole  series  of  doctrines  and 
beliefs  and  practices;  so  in  Zen,  so  in  every 
other  sect.  Every  person  belonging  to  a 
given  sect  holds  those  dogmas  and  practises 
those  ceremonials  characteristic  of  his  sect. 
No  man  is  at  once  Shingon  and  Zen.  But 
in  a  Korean  monastery  we  find  Syen  peo- 
ple meditating  and  Kyo  people  reading 
[53] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

and  to-morrow  the  situation  will  be  re- 
versed, and  it  seems  as  if  the  terms  apply 
merely  to  two  modes  of  discipline,  not  to 
actually  different  sects.  At  all  events  in 
the  same  monastery  we  regularly  find  Syen 
and  Kyo. 

The  texts  of  Mahayana  Buddhism  were 
originally  in  Sanskrit.  They  have  been 
translated  into  Chinese  and  it  is  in  their 
Chinese  form  that  they  are  generally 
studied  in  China,  Korea  and  Japan.'  In 
Korean  monasteries  we  not  infrequently 
find  books  that  are  printed,  at  least  in  part, 
in  Sanskrit  characters.  Do  the  Korean 
monks  know  the  Sanskrit  language?  Far 
from  it.  I  doubt  whether  there  are  a  half- 
dozen  priests  in  all  Korea  who  know  any- 
thing whatever  of  the  language. 

At  every  temple  one  may  secure  tarani. 
s^K-tumnLis  a  sheet  of  paper  with  something 
^'printed  on  it  in  red  from  a  wood-block. 
The  wood-blocks  at  the  different  temples 
vary  and  while  most  of  the  characters  in 
the  printing  are  Chinese,  there  is  a  sprink- 
ling of  Sanskrit.  A  tarani  is  a  sort  of  pass- 
port to  the  Western  Paradise  and  it  is 
[54l 


CONDITION 

supplied  for  burial  with  the  dead.  When  a 
man  is  burned  or  buried  a  tarani  is  placed 
with  his  body.  We  secured  them  from 
almost  every  monastery  visited.  Perhaps 
no  priest  in  Korea  can  read  them.  We 
saw,  however,  at  one  monastery,  an  old 
book  concerning  tarani,  and  it  seems  prob- 
able that  these  texts  have  been  copied  from 
such  books.  About  sixty  years  ago  there 
seems  to  have  been  a  special  fancy  for 
cutting  these  wood-blocks  for  printing 
tarani  and  most  of  those  we  saw  date  from 
that  time. 

Interesting  are  sari  monuments.  As  we 
neared  Yuchom-sa  we  passed  ten  or  twelve 
stone  monuments  with  a  square  base,  a 
swelling  body  and  decorated  tip.  We 
were  told  that  these  were  sari  stones  and 
that  in  them  a  sari  or  "  jewel "  was  buried. 
These  sari  are  curious  things.  It  is  said 
that  when  the  body  of  a  monk  of  special 
piety  is  burned  a  little  pebble  will  be 
found  among  the  ashes.  It  is  irregular  in 
form,  clearly  shows  fusion,  and  looks  a 
little  like  a  gem  or  crystal.  It  is  believed 
that  it  has  been  formed  from  the  elements 
[55] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

of  the  dead  body,  and  they  say  that  only 
about  one  man  out  of  four  hundred  gives 
rise  to  one  of  these  sari. 

1  had  always  had  my  doubts  about  them. 
One  day  at  Songkwang-sa,  where  the  monks 
are  exceptionally  depraved,  a  policeman 
was  v/ith  us  to  see  that  nothing  happened. 
Coming  to  some  sari  stones  we  asked  a 
monk  about  them.  He  told  us  the  same 
story  that  we  had  heard  before  and  we 
asked  him  if  he  really  believed  that  it  was 
true.  He  answered,  "  O  yes,  surely  it  is 
true.''  The  policeman,  however,  expressed 
vigorous  doubt.  The  monk  replied,  "You 
don't  believe  it,  I  will  show  you."  So  we 
proceeded  to  tear  a  sari  monument  to 
pieces!  It  seemed  a  shocking  thing  to  do. 
We  took  off  the  top  stone,  and  laid  it  by, 
and  then  turned  the  main  stone  upside 
down.  At  the  center  was  a  little  cavity 
which  was  neatly  covered  with  a  thin  sheet 
or  disk  of  earthenware;  removing  this  we 
found  inside  a  hole  filled  with  packing,  in 
which  was  a  small  tin  capsule  bearing  an 
inscription.  This  was  said  to  be  the  name 
of  the  man  who  had  honored  the  dead 
[5M 


PLATE  XIX 
Brahmanic Guardian  OF  Buddhism:  Songkwang-sa 

[Page  79I 


CONDITION 

priest  by  erecting  the  monument  to  him. 
Opening  the  capsule  it  was  found  to  con- 
tain some  packing  in  the  midst  of  which 
was  the  little  gem  —  all  that  remained  to 
represent  the  worthy  dead  man.  We  put 
it  back  with  care,  replaced  the  packing, 
closed  the  capsule,  repacked  it  and  recon- 
structed the  monument  as  it  had  been  orig- 
inally. No  doubt  all  these  sari  stones 
really  contain  some  such  relic.  That 
policeman  had  his  doubts  —  I  still  have 
doubts  as  to  just  what  sari  are,  but  it  seems 
certain  that  all  sari  stones  really  have  sari 
in  them. 

There  is  no  question  that  there  is  much 
ignorance  and  even  vice  among  the  monks. 
In  this  monastery  where  we  examined  the 
matter  of  sari  stones  there  were  only  five 
men,  poor,  ignorant  fellows.  We  early 
noticed  that  the  head  priest  there  lacked  a 
tooth,  but  only  found  after  we  had  left  the 
place  that  the  most  devout  of  the  five 
monks  had  knocked  it  out  the  day  before, 
having  had  a  fight  with  his  superior.  The 
neighbors  told  us  that  that  monastery  was 
a  place  of  constant  disorder  and  bad  conduct. 
[57] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISxVI 

At  one  monastery  we  were  even  moved 
to  give  a  lesson  in  behavior.  Here  we  were 
accompanied  by  a  Japanese  policeman;  he 
was  with  us  to  protect  and  give  such  aid  as 
possible,  but  was  absolutely  of  no  use. 
The  monks  received  us  coldly,  answered  a 
few  questions  and  then  disappeared.  Un- 
accustomed to  such  treatment.  I  complained 
to  the  policeman  who  replied,  "This  mon- 
astery has  a  very  bad  name  in  all  this 
district;  the  monks  are  avaricious;  they  are 
thieves;  they  always  treat  visitors  badly; 
they  do  nothing  unless  they  are  well  paid. 
That  is  why  I  came  with  you."  I  replied, 
"Why  don't  you  do  something,  then?  Tell 
them  to  come  out  and  do  their  duty."  He 
shook  his  head  sadly  and  said,  "You  do  not 
know  the  reputation  of  this  temple  here- 
abouts; it  has  a  very  bad  name  indeed." 

So  turning  to  my  interpreter  I  said,  "We 
must  deal  with  this  problem  right  here." 
Calling  a  priest  I  said  to  him,  "  I  under- 
stand that  in  this  monastery  you  have  a  bad 
name ;  there  is  no  time  to  waste ;  we  want  no 
delays;  call  every  monk  and  priest  here 
at  once." 

[58] 


PLATE  XX  A 

Deva  King,  Guardian  of  World  Quarter: 

sukwang-sa 

[Page  79] 


PLATE  XX  B 

Deva  King,  Guardian  of  World  Quarter: 

sukwang-sa 

[Page  79] 


CONDITION 

He  did  so,  and  when  they  had  come  I 
placed  them  in  a  semicircle  before  me  and 
spoke  to  them.  "You  are  Buddhists;  you 
bear  the  name  of  Buddha,  a  great  teacher; 
he  was  kind  and  good  and  cared  nothing 
for  money;  he  desired  to  help  people  and 
make  them  better,  and  people  who  are 
Buddhists  should  be  like  him;  I  am  told 
that  you  are  avaricious  and  when  visitors 
come  here  you  treat  them  with  unkindness 
and  discourtesy  unless  they  pay  you  well; 
1  shall  pay  you  nothing,  but  I  want  you  to 
think  of  the  disgrace  you  bring  upon  your 
name  by  such  conduct;  I  am  visiting  the 
monasteries  because  I  wish  to  see  whether 
Buddhism  is  a  living  force  in  this  land;  I 
wish  to  see  how  you  monks  live  and  what 
vour  conduct  is,  and  what  the  people  say 
about  you;  go  back  to  your  rooms  and  think 
over  what  I  have  said;  as  I  go  from  place 
to  place,  looking  at  things  here,  I  expect 
to  have  thern  open,  and  I  wish  you  to  treat 
me  as  a  brother  and  a  friend;  remember 
that  others  who  may  come  after  me  deserve 
equally  good  treatment;  it  is  a  shame  to 
bring  disgrace  upon  a  cause." 

[59l 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Well,  there  was  an  instant  conversion. 
Poor,  ignorant  fellows,  living  in  their  re- 
mote mountain  monastery,  how  should  they 
know  better?  They  gave  me  honey  water 
and  popped  rice;  they  showed  me  their 
buildings  and  their  treasure;  they  begged 
that  I  would  come  again  and  some  accom- 
panied me,  when  I  was  leaving,  down  to  the 
outer  gate. 

As  for  ignorance,  it  is  probable  that  very 
few  of  them  could  pass  examination  on 
any  kind  of  Buddhism,  whether  Hinayana 
or  Mahayana.  What  more  could  be  ex- 
pected? Surely  we  can  scarcely  throw 
stones.  What  do  most  of  us  know  about 
Christian  doctrine?  How  wise  religiously 
are  the  common  people  in  our  churches? 
In  a  recent  newspaper  it  was  stated  that  a 
man  among  us  asked  five  professional  men 
about  the  Holy  Ghost.  Do  you  suppose 
he  got  much  in  the  way  of  a  satisfactory 
answer?  In  reality  he  got  nothing.  All 
these  educated  men  had  other  business  than 
to  know  about  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  were 
not  well  informed  in  regard  to  the  religion 
in  which  they  had  been  reared ;  and  yet  we 
[60] 


PLATE  XXI 

Gigantic  Deva  King,    Guardian  of  World 

Quarter:  Pawpchu-sa 

(The  Korean  standing  by  is  a  man  of  normal  stature) 

[Page  80] 


CONDITION 

expect  Buddhists,  who  have  been  exiled  in 
mountain  monasteries  for  four  hundred 
years  to  know  so  much! 

How  is  the  population  of  the  monasteries 
maintained?  Whence  do  new  members 
come  to-day?  There  is,  of  course,  always 
a  supply  of  orphan  children,  few  of  whom 
ever  go  back  into  the  world  after  they  have 
been  brought  up  in  monastery  surround- 
ings. Other  people  drift  in  for  many  rea- 
sons. Men  who  have  lost  their  friends  and 
relatives  by  death  often  go  to  the  mon- 
asteries. So  do  those  who  fail  in  business, 
or  who  have  been  disappointed  in  life 
enterprises.  The  head-priest  of  one  small, 
but  very  famous,  ancient  monastery,  only 
recently  became  religious;  he  had  been 
employed  as  a  janitor  or  helper  in  a  Bud- 
dhist temple  of  Japanese  in  a  Korean  city 
and  became  interested  and  attracted.  The 
head-priest  of  one  of  my  favorite  mon- 
asteries was  in  the  world  until  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  fifty  years  or  more;  he 
had  been  in  military  service  and  I  believe, 
had  risen  to  the  rank  of  Colonel;  getting 
on  in  years,  however,  he  began  to  think 
[6i] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

seriously  of  religious  matters  and  retreated 
to  the  monastery.  With  one  young  priest 
at  Yuchom-sa  in  the  Diamond  Mountains 
we  talked  for  hours,  until  midnight.  He 
was  genuine ;  he  had  the  spirit  of  true  re- 
ligion; he  was  a  thinker  and  was  in  the 
monastery  from  principle.  There  are  no 
doubt  many  like  him. 

We  were  at  Tongdo-sa  on  Buddha's 
birthday.  It  is  one  of  the  great  monasteries 
of  the  South.  They  knew  we  were  coming 
and  therefore  we  found  a  place  to  sleep. 
When  we  were  within  three  or  four  miles 
of  it  we  found  ourselves  in  a  crowd  of 
persons  going  up  to  the  celebration.  The 
nearest  railway  station  is  about  ten  miles 
away.  Most  of  the  people,  however,  had 
walked  from  their  homes.  It  is  a  mountain 
district,  sparsely  settled;  there  are  surely 
only  two  or  three  towns  of  any  size  within 
fifteen  miles  of  the  place.  When  we 
reached  the  monastery  we  found  one  of  the 
liveliest  scenes  we  ever  witnessed  in  Korea. 
The  head-priest  told  us  that  ten  thousand 
people  slept  on  the  grounds  of  the  temple 
that  night.     The   majority  of  them  were 

r  (^2  ] 


CONDITION 

women.  Of  course,  that  would  have  been 
true  if  it  had  been  a  Presbyterian  gather- 
ing. We  were  two  nights  there.  On  the 
full  day  that  we  spent  with  them  a  wonder- 
tul  crowd  of  people  was  present;  there  were 
a  few  Japanese  —  a  teacher  and  one  or  two 
officials  —  but  apart  from  these  the  multi- 
tude was  Korean.  Probably  fifteen  thou- 
sand people  were  there  that  day.  We 
found  that  one  of  the  events  of  that  eve- 
ning was  a  moving-picture  show  in  one  of 
the  monastery  buildings.  The  life  of  Bud- 
dha was  to  be  represented  in  moving  pic- 
tures. All  this  does  not  look  much  like 
death!  It  is  said  that  at  the  other  head 
monasteries  there  were  proportionately 
equal  crowds. 

We  often  asked  what  efforts  were  being 
made  at  monasteries  for  general  improve- 
ment and  helping  the  outside  world.  The 
purpose  of  a  monastery,  of  course,  is  not 
related  to  such  undertakings.  In  all  re- 
ligions, at  all  times,  monasteries  have  been 
only  for  persons  who  were  seeking  indi- 
vidual improvement  or  salvation.  In  their 
very  essence  they  are  not  philanthropic  or 
[63] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

reform  movements.  Still,  with  the  lack  of 
temples  in  the  cities  and  definite  teaching 
of  the  people  through  them,  it  might  seem 
as  if  something  would  be  undertaken  by  the 
monasteries.  In  reality  there  is  much  more 
in  this  direction  than  could  be  expected. 
At  several  of  the  monasteries  there  is  a 
school  for  outside  children;  some  have 
undertaken  a  definite  work  of  teaching  and 
some  others  realize  that  they  have  a  genuine 
opportunity  to  aid  in  the  elevation  of  the 
country.  More  and  more  the  monasteries 
seem  to  awake  to  the  existence  of  these 
possibilities. 

Korean  Buddhism  has,  perhaps,  a  poli- 
tical part  to  play.  When  the  Japanese  took 
over  Korea,  Buddhists  came  into  the  coun- 
try in  great  numbers.  Japanese  priests  and 
temples  came  with  these  settlers.  These 
priests  and  temples  are  in  the  cities  and 
larger  towns.  They  do  not,  however,  fit 
with  the  Koreans.  There  might  be  thou- 
sands of  them  and  they  would  still  not 
make  Korean  converts  —  not  because  the 
Japanese  are  not  ready  to  do  mission  work, 
but  because  the  Koreans  are  not  ready  to 
[64] 


CONDITION 

accept  it.    The  Korean  Buddhism  of  to-day 
is  actually  Korean,  not  Japanese. 

I  can  imagine  nothing  that  would  be 
more  dangerous  to  Japanese  control  than 
a  strong  and  vital  Korean  Buddhism  that 
was  hostile  to  Japan.  On  the  other  hand, 
I  can  think  of  nothing  that  would  be  a 
greater  help  to  Japan  than  a  Korean  Bud- 
dhism developed  among  those  people  by 
their  own  priests  and  friendly  to  Japan. 
What  Korean  Buddhism  is  to  be  in  the 
future  depends  upon  its  relation  to  the 
government  now  there.  If  Korean  Bud- 
dhism accepts  and  cooperates  with  the 
Japanese  control,  it  will  become  the  might- 
iest factor  that  can  be  devised  to  make 
Japan's  hold  on  the  peninsula  secure.  If 
hostile  to  Japan,  when  the  crisis  comes,  as 
it  surely  will  come,  when  Japan  will  be 
tried  out  again  and  once  for  all  on  Korean 
soil,  Korean  Buddhism  may  be  the  decisive 
element  in  that  moment  of  test. 


[65] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM:   ART 

TO-NIGHT  we  are  to  consider  art  in 
Korean  Buddhism.  We  shall  ex- 
amine it  under  six  different  forms 
—  scenery,  sculpture  in  stone,  wood  carv- 
ing, architecture,  images  or  idols  and 
painting. 

Perhaps  it  scarcely  seems  to  you  as  if 
scenery  —  real  landscape,  not  landscape 
painting  —  were  art.  In  the  Orient,  how- 
ever, it  is  surely  such.  Eastern  peoples 
have  for  hundreds  of  years  been  passion- 
ately fond  of  the  beautiful  in  nature. 
Chinese,  Koreans,  Japanese  will  travel  on 
foot  or  by  any  possible  conveyance  many 
miles  to  see  a  famous  view.  They  locate 
their  houses  in  pretty  places;  they  build 
temples  and  shrines  upon  commanding 
points.  When  the  Korean  monks,  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  were  compelled  to  take 
refuge  in  the  mountains,  they  located  their 
buildings  in  surroundings  harmonious  to 
[66] 


ART 

the  religion.  Their  locations  have  been 
chosen  with  great  care.  And  there  is  much 
more  in  scenery  than  the  careless  spectator 
thinks;  for  the  Oriental  scenery  always 
contains  something  of  the  esoteric. 

For  example,  think  of  the  Diamond 
Mountains.  They  are  a  remarkable  tangle 
of  peaks  and  ridges;  measuring  only  thirty 
or  forty  miles  across,  the  area  is  more  or 
less  elliptical  in  form;  it  is  called  "the 
twelve  thousand  peaks"  or  summits.  The 
Diamond  Mountains  have  been  famous 
for  two  thousand  years,  and  famous  not 
only  in  Korea,  but  in  China  and  Japan. 
They  have  been  the  theme  of  hundreds  of 
poems  and  have  furnished  material  for 
scores  of  books,  some  of  them  hundreds  of 
years  old.  Artists  have  delighted  in  de- 
picting their  beauties.  The  Diamond 
Mountains  with  their  twelve  thousand 
peaks  are  divided  into  two  portions.  The 
name  Diamond  Mountains  in  itself  is  most 
suggestive;  the  diamond  is  one  of  the  most 
precious  symbols  in  Buddhism  —  indicat- 
ing purity,  clearness,  brightness  —  and  Ko- 
rean Buddhism  was  a  religion  of  light  and 
[  67  ] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

illumination.  The  two  divisions  of  the 
Diamond  Mountains  are  known  as  the 
Inner  and  the  Outer  Kongo.  The  traveller 
may  visit  the  outer  region  and  realize  but 
little  of  the  true  significance  of  JCongo-San. 
In  the  Inner  Kongo  every  outstanding  rock 
is  significant.  Every  building  has  been 
placed  with  reference  to  some  hidden 
meaning  of  the  landscape,  and  with  every 
step  the  visitor  goes  deeper  and  deeper  into 
mystery. 

Let  us  approach  a  mountain  monastery. 
The  trail  is  well  marked  long  before  we 
see  the  buildings.  Once  upon  the  grounds 
we  come  to  some  of  those  carved  posts  or 
pillars,  devil  posts,  changson,  which  were 
illustrated  in  the  preceding  lecture,  and 
were  no  doubt  taken  over  from  the  old- 
time  paganism.  We  pass  through  the  outer 
gate.  All  the  gates  bear  names  significant 
to  the  thoughtful  worshipper.  We  pass 
through  gate  after  gate  like  "the  gateway 
of  Life,"  "  the  gate  of  All-powerful  Truth," 
"  the  gate  of  Illumination."  Many  of  these 
gates  are  pavilions,  resting-places,  whence 
one  may  view  the  scenery,  or  visit  with 
[68] 


ART 

companions,  or  meditate  in  preparation  for 
worship.  As  we  approach  the  buildings 
we  may  find  ourselves  in  a  narrowing  val- 
ley, or  passing  some  cascade.  All  the  rock 
cliffs  have  been  seized  and  utilized  and 
bear  inscriptions,  beautifully  cut  into  the 
stone  material.  We  see  the  formula,  con- 
stantly^ on  the  tongue  of  Korean  Buddhists, 
Namu  Amida  Pul,  not  once  or  dozens  of 
rimes,  but  everywhere,  repeated  hundreds 
of  times  over.  The  Daimon^  or  great  gate- 
way, is  the  last;  it  signifies  the  gate  of  death 
through  which  we  reach  the  heavenly  life. 

At  last  we  come  to  the  mass  of  monastery 

buildings.      Eyeryi„lem^ple— has its — name 

marked  clearlv  on  it,  sometimes  the  names 
themselves  are  suggestive,  helping  the  wor- 
shipper to  clearer  thought  and  serious 
meditation. 

The~ second  form  of  art  is  sculpture 
in  stone.  We  have  already  mentioned 
the  formulae  and  other  inscriptions  cut 
upon  the  cliffs.  To  the  Oriental  eye  they 
are  as  beautiful  and  represent  as  much 
artistic  skill  as  figures  would.  There  are, 
however,  also  on  the  natural  rock  faces, 
[69] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

designs  and  figures  cut  in  low  relief,  which 
we  find  in  the  most  unexpected  places.  In 
the  Inner  Kongo  there  are  many  great  rep- 
resentations of  the  Buddhas  cut  upon  the 
vertical  rock  face.  Here,  for  instance,  are 
three  figures,  twenty  feet  in  height,  one  of 
the  great  Buddhist  trinities.  Again,  there 
is  a  representation  of  Monju,  of  even 
greater  size.  (Plate  XIV.)  On  another 
face  of  rocks  are  the  figures  of  the  famous 
fifty-three  Buddhas  who  came  so  long  ago 
to  live  and  die  among  the  Diamond  Moun- 
tains. 

In  a  former  lecture  we  referred  to  the 
cave  chapel  of  Sukkul-am.  It  is  full  of 
beauty.  Excavated  in  the  slope  near  a 
great  ridge  summit,  it  looks  out  upon  the 
Eastern  Sea.  In  the  old  days  it  was  ap- 
proached by  a  fine  flight  of  steps.  From 
its  summit  a  passageway  led  to  the  sub- 
terranean chamber.  It  was  bordered  on 
both  sides  by  slabs  carved  with  figures  in 
high  relief.  Here  are  the  two  guardian  de- 
mons, the  four  kings  of  the  cardinal  points, 
the  six  generals.  Passing  between  them  we 
reach  the  little  circular  chapel,  about  thirty 
[70] 


ART 

feet  across,  subterraneously  situated  in  the 
hillside.  Its  low,  vaulted  roof  is  an  in- 
genious and  wonderful  construction.  The 
surrounding  walls  are  filled  with  slabs 
bearing  fine  carvings.  Here  are  three 
splendid  figures  of  Bodhisattvas,  with 
boat-shaped  haloes,  three  other  figures  of 
Bodhisattvas  with  round  haloes,  and  distrib- 
uted between  them  the  ten  first  disciples 
of  the  Great  Teacher.  These  ten  figures 
present  marvellous  detail  of  feature;  not 
only  personal  differences,  but  race  differ- 
ences are  sharply  brought  out;  more  than 
that  the  figures  were  originally  colored,  and 
no  doubt,  different  races  are  indicated  by 
the  different  tints.  There  is  no  question 
that  individuals  of  different  races  were 
among  the  first  disciples  of  the  Buddha. 
And  in  the  center  of  all  this  beauty,  this 
flowering  of  ancient  art,  sits  the  stone 
Buddha,  on  his  lotus  pedestal.  It  is  a 
monolith,  cut  from  a  block  of  stone  about 
eleven  feet  in  height.  It  is  beautiful  in 
pose,  in  feature,  and  in  expression.  For 
almost  fifteen  hundred  years  it  has  sat  there 
calmly  looking  out  upon  the  Eastern  Sea. 
[71I 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Every  morning  it  is  greeted  by  the  rising 
sun. 

Besides  figures  cut  in  high  relief,  the  old 
artists  made  full  sculptures  in  the  round. 
Such,  of  course,  was  the  Buddha  figure, 
just  described.  Such  are  the  great  miriok, 
sculptured  from  natural  rock  pinnacles, 
like  the  one  at  Eunjin.  You  may  remember 
the  picture  of  a  giant  lotus  pedestal,  lying 
in  the  courtyard  of  Kumsan-sa  (Plates  V, 
VI),  which  we  showed  you  in  the  first  lec- 
ture; it  is  at  least  a  thousand  years  of  age. 
In  the  same  courtyard,  you  remember  that 
we  saw  a  little  tower  or  pagoda  of  stone, 
thirteen  stories  high,  but  in  reality  no  taller 
than  a  man.  At  Pawpchu-sa  there  is  that 
splendid  bowl  of  stone,  more  than  twelve 
hundred  years  of  age,  which  in  its  time,  no 
doubt,  was  filled  with  pure  water  for  the 
cleansing  of  the  hands  and  mouth  of  wor- 
shippers. Sometimes  we  find  stone  lanterns 
and  occasionally  these  are  supported  by 
animal  figures  in  caryatid  forms.  Then 
there  are  the  sari  stones  and  altars  and 
turtle-borne  monuments. 

Look  at  this  series  of  pictures  from 
[72] 


PLATE  XXV 

Great  figures  of  Buddhist  Trinity,  standing: 

KuMSAN-SA.   Amida,  Kwannon,  Daiseishi 

(Thirty  feet  or  so  in  height) 

[Page  89] 


ART 

Hoiam-sa,  one  of  the  first  temples  we 
visited  in  1917.  (Plate  XV.)  To-day  it  is 
a  place  of  no  significance,  but  it  was  once  a 
great  religious  center  and  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  three  famous  men.  It  chanced 
the  day  we  visited  it  that  the  three  monks 
who  live  there  were  about  to  celebrate  the 
day  sacred  to  the  memory  of  these  noted 
teachers;  gifts  and  offerings  and  all  the 
paraphernalia  for  worship  were  laid  out, 
ready.  These  three  men  were  Muhak, 
Chikong  and  Nanong.  Chikong  was  a 
native  of  India,  who  spent  his  last  days  in 
Korea.  Nanong  was  chaplain  and  pre- 
ceptor of  King  Kong-Min-Oang,  the  last 
king  of  the  Koryu  dynasty.  Muhak  was 
the  chaplain  and  preceptor  of  Yi-tajo, 
founder  of  the  Yi  Dynasty.  Behind  the 
monastery  building  there  rises  a  remark- 
able narrow-backed  and  sloping  ridge.  It 
bears  a  line  of  monuments  reared  to  the 
memory  of  these  three  men.  The  stones 
commemorating  Chikong  and  Nanong 
were  erected  by  Muhak  in  the  year  1393; 
the  stones  in  memory  of  him  were  reared 
in  1401.  The  monument  to  each  of  these 
[73] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

worthies  consists  of  four  stone  objects  —  a 
lantern,  an  altar,  a  sari  stone  —  which  I  sup- 
pose contains  the  jewel  that  was  left  after 
the  burning  of  the  man  in  whose  honor  it 
was  reared  —  and  a  stone  turtle  figure  from 
whose  back  rises  a  slab  bearing  a  long 
inscription.  These  turtle-stones  with  in- 
scribed slabs  are  found  everywhere  in 
Korea;  the  turtle  is  the  symbol  of  lon- 
gevity and  its  use  in  this  connection  breathes 
the  wish  that  the  memory  of  the  thing 
recorded  may  endure  ten  thousand  years. 
These  monuments  are  typical  and  good 
examples  of  their  class.  The  carving  on 
Muhak's  sari  stone  is  particularly  beau- 
tiful. 

In  connection  with  stone  work  we  must 
remind  you  again  of  the  towers  or  pagodas 
of  which  you  have  seen  repeated  illustra- 
tions. Here  we  show  but  one  to  refresh 
your  memory.  (Plate  XVI.)  Such  towers 
or  pagodas  rise  in  stories,  numbering  from 
three  to  thirteen,  but  always  odd  —  three, 
five,  seven,  thirteen.  There  are  hundreds 
of  them  scattered  over  the  peninsula  and  at 
all  the  old  monasteries  you  will  find  them. 
[74] 


mjm:. 


n-iiJ  iWinMniwinimiuiii 


•^       0-)  • 


p^   o 


ART 

Some  of  those  in  the  monasteries  of  the 
Diamond  Mountains  claim  to  be  fifteen 
hundred  years  of  age  or  more.  They  are 
symbolical,  variously;  they  may  denote  the 
life  of  the  individual,  pointing  heaven- 
ward, developing  from  one  stage  of  per- 
fection to  another;  they  may  mean  the  body 
of  the  faithful,  or  the  church;  the  simple 
three-story  towers  symbolize  earth,  sky  and 
heaven. 

Thirdly,  are  the  wooden  figures  and 
other  carvings  in  wood.  And  before  we 
study  these  in  detail  let  us  remember  that 
all  religions  are  accustomed  to  borrow 
from  those  that  have  preceded  them.  In 
Christianity  we  have  quantities  of  super- 
stition lingering  on  from  our  days  of  pa- 
ganism. Every  religion  that  attempts  a 
propaganda  is  compelled  to  take  over  much 
from  the  faiths  which  it  displaces.  India 
is  a  veritable  mother  of  religions.  One 
after  another  great  religious  systems  have 
developed  there.  In  very  ancient  days 
there  was  the  simple  nature  worship  of  the 
old  Aryans,  as  shown  us  in  their  sacred 
hymns,  the  Vedas.  Among  their  gods  two 
[75] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

of  the  greatest  were  Brahma  and  Indra. 
Brahma  was  the  creator,  Indra  was  a 
god  of  heaven,  an  atmospheric  deity  who 
wielded  thunderbolts,  who  hurled  light- 
ning strokes  against  the  foe.  In  course  of 
time  the  old  Aryans  advanced  in  culture, 
and  their  ancient  worship  gave  way  to  a 
systematized  religion,  Brahmanism,  with 
many  gods,  having  definite  names  and 
qualities  and  attributes.  But  old  Brahma 
and  Indra  lived  on  from  the  early  days  into 
Brahmanism.  In  that  system  Brahma  was 
the  king  of  all  the  gods,  Indra  was  the  king 
of  heaven  —  having  a  special  heaven  of 
great  beauty.  It  is  said  that  his  heaven  was 
situated  between  the  four  peaks  of  Meru 
and  consisted  of  thirty-two  cities  of  Devas, 
eight  on  each  of  the  four  corners  of  the 
mountain.  Indra's  capital  was  at  the  center 
where  he  sat  enthroned,  with  a  thousand 
eyes  and  four  arms  grasping  the  thunder- 
bolt, in  company  with  his  wife  and  eleven 
thousand  and  nine  hundred  concubines. 
There  he  received  monthly  reports  regard- 
ing the  progress  of  good  and  evil  in  the 
world  from  his  four  Maharajas,  heavenly 
[76] 


PLATE  XXVII 
Figure  and  Painting  of  Kwannon:  Pomo-sa 

[Page  89] 


ART 

kings  of  the  cardinal  points.  The  word 
Deva  in  Brahmanism  is  applied  to  the  gods 
in  general ;  if  a  god  is  not  specifically  named 
he  is  called  a  Deva. 

Brahmanism  was  the  religion  of  India 
when  Buddha  came.  He  devoted  his  life 
to  its  overthrow,  and  his  teaching  was 
hostile  to  its  assumptions.  Curiously,  how- 
ever, in  the  popular  traditional  life  of 
Buddha  many  incidents  are  mentioned  in 
which  the  friendliest  of  relations  were 
established  between  Buddha  and  the  Devas 
of  the  old  faith.  Thus  it  is  said  that 
Brahma  himself  appeared  to  Buddha  and 
begged  him  to  begin  his  teaching.  Indra 
in  these  stories  repeatedly  shows  his  friend- 
ship. There  is  one  splendid  occasion  men- 
tioned in  which  Buddha  had  been  to  Indra's 
heaven ;  when  he  was  ready  to  descend,  stairs 
appeared  for  him  made  of  the  choicest  and 
most  beautiful  materials,  and  as  he  came 
down  this  stairway,  Brahma  descended  by 
a  side  stairway  of  silver  and  Indra  upon  a 
stairway  of  purple  gold  upon  the  other 
side,  while  with  them  came  thousands  of 
Devas,  singing  Buddha's  praises. 
[77] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

The  four  Maharajas,  heavenly  kings  of 
the  cardinal  points,  who  reported  to  Indra 
every  month,  showed  themselves  equally 
friendly.  On  one  occasion  Buddha  was 
without  a  begging  bowl ;  the  Deva  kings 
came  to  him  and  each  oneofifered  a  begging- 
bowl  of  emerald;  the  Buddha  refused  to 
take  them,  as  they  were  of  too  precious 
material;  so  they  offered  bowls  less  fine  and 
each  was  strenuous  that  he  should  accept 
his  gift;  so  Buddha  took  the  four  bowls 
and  placing  them  together,  lo,  they  became 
a  single  bowl,  but  with  a  rim  showing  how 
four  had  merged,  so  that  none  of  the  kind 
Devas  was  neglected  or  hurt  in  feeling,  and 
the  offering  of  all  was  accepted  by  the  Great 
Teacher;  it  is  said  that  this  begging  bowl 
was  in  existence  hundreds  of  years  after 
Buddha's  time,  kept  as  a  precious  treasure 
in  a  temple. 

We  need  not  then,  be  surprised,  to  find 
that  a  number  of  the  old  Brahmanic  gods 
were  taken  bodily  over  into  Buddhism. 
Brahma  and  Indra  are  in  fact  to-day  con- 
sidered in  Mahayana  to  be  the  chief 
patrons  and  protectors  of  Buddhism.  The 
[78] 


ART 

four  Maharajas  have  also  been  taken  over 
completely.  And  Yama,  the  very  ancient 
god  of  hell,  to-day  finds  himself  as  com- 
fortable in  Buddhism  as  he  ever  could 
have  been  in  Brahmanism,  or  in  the  earlier 
Aryan  worship  of  the  Vedas. 

Approaching  any  Buddhist  temple  in 
Japan  or  Korea  you  are  almost  sure  to  find 
two  gigantic  figures  standing  at  the  outer 
gate.  They  are  the  old  gods  Brahma  and 
Indra.  They  are  represented  as  full- 
muscled  men  of  gigantic  size,  wrestling 
against  the  powers  of  evil.     (Plate  XIX.) 

At  another  gate,  farther  up  the  trail, 
one  is  almost  sure  to  find  the  Maharajas, 
heavenly  kings  of  the  cardinal  points, 
under  shelter,  each  in  a  niche  or  alcove; 
usually  there  are  two  on  either  side  as  one 
passes  through  the  gate.-  Being  related  to 
the  cardinal  points,  they  are  always  ar- 
ranged in  the  same  order,  and  are  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other  by  having 
dififerent  colored  faces,  each  having  the 
color  proper  to  the  district  over  which  he  has 
control.  (Plate  XX,  a,  b.)  Each  carries  a 
characteristic  object,  thus  one  bears  a  pa- 
[79] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

goda  or  tower  on  his  hand,  another  carries 
a  blazing  jewel,  the  third  varies  what  he 
carries,  but  frequently  he  plays  upon  a 
lute,  the  fourth  one  has  a  sword;  these  four 
great  Brahman  deities  are  found  to-day  in 
Korea  at  every  Buddhist  monastery,  at  the 
gate  commonly  called  "  the  gate  of  the  four 
kings";  there  they  watch,  guarding  the 
monastery  against  all  harm.  These  are  al- 
most always  figures  of  wood,  but  rarely  one 
may  find  paintings  on  the  wooden  walls 
instead  of  the  figures.  While  these  guar- 
dian kings  are  always  represented  in  he- 
roic size  the  series  at  Pawpchu-sa  are  of 
extraordinary  dimensions,  probably  the 
largest  in  Korea.     (Plate  XXI.) 

Yama,  too,  was  taken  over  from  the  older 
faith.  The  god  of  hell,  he  was  assisted  by 
ten  helpers;  each  of  these  served  as  his 
representative  in  a  separate  hell,  or  di- 
vision of  that  place  of  torment.  Yama 
judges  souls  and  inflicts  penalties,  assigns 
duties,  and  directs  all  the  details  of  his 
realm.  In  most  Korean  monasteries  there 
will  be  a  hall  of  the  ten  kings  in  which  we 
see  figures  of  Yama  with  his  assistants. 
[80] 


<; 

Oh 


ART 

Next  we  may  consider  architecture.  We 
place  it  fourth  because  we  have  pursued  a 
logical  order  of  approach.  Coming  through 
the  beautiful  scenery,  we  have  passed  over 
the  trail,  noticing  the  inscriptions  on  the 
cliffs,  passing  by  the  guardians  of  the  outer 
gate,  walking  between  the  four  kings  on 
their  ceaseless  guard,  but  at  last  have  come 
to  the  monastery  buildings  proper  and  see 
them  in  their  age  and  beauty  before  us. 
We  have  already  seen  representations  of 
many  of  these  temples  in  the  preceding 
lectures.  You  have  noticed  that  all  were 
built  of  wood ;  you  have  observed  the 
curious  mode  of  timbering;  you  have 
studied  the  tangle  of  projecting  timber  ends 
under  the  roof  —  the  decorative  features 
applied  to  them,  the  carving  and  painting; 
red,  green,  black,  white  and  blue,  the 
gaudiest  of  colors  are  used  upon  them  in  a 
fashion  which  we  could  not  conceive,  and 
from  which  we  would  expect  disharmony, 
though  the  real  effect  is  charming.  You 
have  examined  in  detail  the  carved  decora- 
tion of  the  doors,  sometimes  foliage,  again 
[8i] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

floral,  or  with  figures  mingled  with  the 
other  designs.     (Plate  XVIII.) 

While  the  buildings  themselves  are  al- 
ways of  wood  there  is  a  curious  use  made  of 
stone  at  times  in  the  way  of  supports.  You 
remember  in  a  picture  from  Sukwang-sa 
this  was  illustrated.  The  building  was  in 
the  nature  of  a  pavilion  where  tablets  bear- 
ing names  were  left  by  visitors ;  the  pavilion 
was  borne  upon  upright  columns  of  stone, 
highly  characteristic  of  Korea,  but  not 
common  elsewhere. 

Another  feature  of  the  architecture  is 
wall-painting^  and  here  we  find  two  differ- 
ent kinds.  Pictures  may  be  painted  directly 
upon  the  woodwork  of  the  wall.  It  is 
more  common,  however,  to  panel  the  tim- 
bered walls  with  plastering  and  then  to 
paint  upon  the  plaster.  Let  us  examine 
examples  of  both  kinds. 

You  remember  that  among  the  Buddhist 
books  recently  printed  in  on-mun  was  an 
allegory  by  a  Chinese  monk.  The  writer's 
name  was  Chiu-Chang-Chun;  he  was  born 
in  1208  and  died  in  1288.  His  book  was 
named  Sei-yeu-ki;  at  Pongeum-sa,  a  scene 
[82] 


^^^^^^^^K^i 

^B 

1^^^^ 

^^^1 

^^^R^                            ^^H^^  ^^I^^^H 

^^^^^1 

^^^     jM    '  Mi^i^^a    J^Bn  ^^^^^"^^^ 

HI 

^1^.  _„    *'^H^  X    "*'  >^^^^^^^L '  'v_ 

Mfli 

k!  '^^  ■■  5 

w          <•  »»-          1    '  %^-^       -^Sfe-     *    « 

hgm 

HlLfL^M 

ART 

taken  from  his  book  is  painted  on  the 
wooden  wall.  We  present  it  as  an  example 
of  this  kind  of  decoration.  It  represents 
a  scene  from  the  closing  part  of  the  old 
story.     (Plate  XXII.) 

The  pilgrims  had  almost  finished  their 
journey  and  were  returning  in  state,  on 
cherubim,  with  a  great  collection  of  idols 
and  sacred  texts.  It  was  found,  however, 
that  they  had  suffered  only  eighty  trials, 
and  it  seems  that  to  be  perfect  they  should 
pass  through  eighty-one  —  nine  times  nine 
—  so  angels  were  sent  to  overtake  the  eight 
cherubim,  and  tell  them  privately  that  they 
must  let  the  monks  suffer  one  trial  more. 
This  the  angels  did.  As  a  sample  of  the 
story,  and  in  explanation  of  the  picture  we 
quote  from  Dr.  Richard's  translation. 

"  It  was  a  strange  sensation  to  be  on  the 
ground  again.  They  had  come  down  near  some 
water.  The  master  asked,  '  Can  anyone  tell  me 
where  we  are?  ' 

The  monkey  said,  '  Master,  this  is  the  mouth 
of  the  Milky  Way  River.'  The  river  was  wide. 
It  was  also  a  lonely  place,  without  houses  or 
boats,  and  they  were  on  the  western  side.  How 
could  they  get  across?  Two  of  them  suggested 
[83] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

that  since  the  master  had  left  his  mortal  body 
behind  they  could  cross  the  river  by  magic, 
but  the  monkey  said,  '  No,  it  cannot  be  done.' 
He  knew  that  there  was  one  trial  more  to 
undergo,  and  it  was  for  this  they  had  stopped 
on  the  way.  Then  they  heard  a  cry,  '  Chinese 
priest,  come  this  way.'  They  went  and  found 
that  it  was  the  white  tortoise,  who  had  ferried 
them  over  as  they  went  West,  at  the  time  when 
they  had  saved  the  family  at  Chen  Kia  Chwang. 
The  tortoise  said  he  had  been  waiting  for  their 
return  for  a  long  time  and  was  glad  to  see  them. 
The  practical  monkey  said,  '  Formerly  we  had 
to  trouble  you.    Now  we  meet  again.' 

At  this  the  four  pilgrims  were  verv  rejoiced 
to  see  the  tortoise.  He  took  them  and  the 
horse  all  on  his  back  and  swam  across  to  the 
other  side.  As  they  neared  the  Eastern  shore 
and  it  was  getting  dark,  the  tortoise  said, 
'  Master,  when  you  went  West  I  asked  you  to 
inquire  of  Buddha  for  me  how  I  might  return 
to  my  former  state,  and  when  I  might  get  a 
human  body.  Did  you  remember  to  ask?' 
But  the  master  had  been  so  absorbed  in  his  own 
affairs  that  he  had  completely  forgotten  the 
tortoise  and  his  request  and  so  he  had  nothing 
to  say.  The  tortoise,  finding  that  he  had  been 
forgotten,  turned  a  somersault,  and  threw  all 
and  everything  into  the  river.  Happily  the 
mortal  body  of  the  master  had  been  exchanged 

[84] 


Ah 


O 


a; 


a 


ART 

for  an  immortal  one,  and  therefore  he  was  safe 
In  the  water.  The  pig  and  the  monkey,  the  boy 
and  the  horse,  were  also  at  home  in  the  water, 
but  the  books  were  all  soaked." 

The  old  allegory  took  a  strong  hold  upon 
Eastern  Asia  and  there  must  have  been 
hundreds  of  pictures  painted  in  the  course 
of  time  representing  its  incidents. 

As  an  example  of  the  wall-paintings  on 
plaster  we  may  study  a  group  of  paintings, 
each  representing  an  individual  being,  from 
one  of  the  main  temples  at  Sukwang-sa. 
None  of  these  figures  is  haphazard,  or  with- 
out significance.  Each  would  be  recog- 
nized by  the  well-informed  Buddhist. 
(Plate  XXIII.) 

Fifth  are  the  idols  or  images.  In  the 
Buddhism  taught  by  Sakya  there  was  no 
room  for  them.  The  Great  Teacher  rec- 
ognized no  gods,  and  his  followers  should 
have  no  representations  of  deities.  In 
Amida  Buddhism,  however,  there  are  many 
gods,  and  a  multitude  of  figures.  The 
Buddhas,  themselves  are  all  represented 
among  them  including  Sakya.  When  we 
examine  the  figures  worshipped  in  Buddhist 
[85  1 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

temples  we  find  three  groups,  (a)  Bud- 
dhas,  (b)  Bodhisattvas,  (c)  Arhats  or 
Rakan.  Sakya  was  not  the  first  Buddha; 
in  fact  he  was  the  twenty-fourth  or  twenty- 
fifth  in  the  line  of  those  who  attained  en- 
lightenment and  gained  Nirvana.  The 
Indians  reckoned  time  in  long  periods  or 
kalpas;  most  of  the  Buddhas  were  in 
former  kalpas,  but  even  in  the  present 
kalpa,  in  which  we  live,  Buddha  had  three 
predecessors;  and  before  our  kalpa  ends 
a  successor  will  appear,  Maitreya,  or  Mi- 
roku,  the  coming  Buddha." 

The  two  Buddhas  most  commonly  rep- 
resented by  figures  in  Korean  Buddhism 
are  Sakya  and  Amida.  Miroku,  too,  is  fre- 
quently to  be  seen,  but  Miroku  is  not  yet 
a  Buddha  but  only  Bodhisattva. 

Bodhisattvas  were  human  beings  who  had 
piled  up  karma  and  passed  from  stage  to 
stage  until  they  stood  within  a  single  step 
of  Buddha-hood;  during  their  next  exist- 
ence they  could  hope  for  illumination,  en- 
lightenment. Nirvana.  There  are  many 
Bodhisattvas,  but  the  ones  most  commonly 
represented  by  Korean  figures  are  six  in 
[86] 


o 


O 

o 


ART 

number.  Their  Korean  names  are  Miryek 
Posal,  Titsang  Posal,  Kwandyeieun  Posal, 
Taiseichi  Posal,  Mounsou  Posal,  and  Po- 
hien  Posal.  These  Bodhisattvas  are  much 
better  known  to  the  outside  world  by  their 
Japanese  names,  and  having  introduced 
them  in  Korean  terminology  we  shall  refer 
to  them  as  we  have  opportunity  under  the 
Japanese  forms. 

They  become,  then,  Maitreya  or  Miroku, 
Jizo,  Kwannon,  Daiseishi,  Monju,  Fugen. 
Curiously  enough  in  Korean  iconography 
Jizo,  a  most  mild  and  gentle  god,  fond  of 
and  loved  by  children,  replaces  Yama  often 
as  the  king  of  hell.  Kwannon,  god  of 
mercy,  usually  considered  female  in  Japan, 
though  not  invariably,  is  usually  male  in 
Korean   representation. 

The  third  type  of  images  of  figures  wor- 
shipped in  Korean  monasteries  are  the 
Arhats  or  Rakan.  These  are  men  who 
have  made  progress;  they  have  meditated, 
studied,  listened  and  thought;  some  of 
them  are  the  original  students  of  Sakya;  all 
have  gained  a  store  of  helpful  karma,  and 
many  of  them  are  worshipped.  When 
[87] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

made  in  figures  there  are  two  groups  of 
Rakan.  One  known  as  the  sixteen  Rakan, 
the  other  as  the  five  hundred.  The  sixteen 
Rakan  are  all  absolutely  historical  person- 
ages of  early  date,  friends,  relatives,  and 
hearers,  of  Sakya.  In  figures  and  in  paint- 
ings they  are  represented  with  character- 
istic attributes,  readily  recognized. 

These  three  kinds  of  figures  are  usually 
made  of  wood,  painted  and  gilded;  some- 
times the  gold  leaf  on  them  represents  ab- 
solutely considerable  value.  The  figures  of 
the  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas  are  fre- 
quently of  large  size,  and  often  beautiful. 
They  may  be  standing  or  seated,  but  in  both 
cases  the  position  of  the  hands  and  fingers  is 
important  and  significant.  (Plate  XXIV.) 
Buddhism  everywhere  recognizes  a  series 
of  finger  symbols  carrying  a  message.  It 
is  interesting  to  notice  that  the  Buddha  is 
usually  included  in  a  trinity.  This  fact  is 
among  many  which  have  led  some  writers 
like  Professor  Lloyd,  Doctor  Richard,  and 
Madame  Gordon  to  think  that  Mahayana 
Buddhism  is  actually  Christianity  worked 
over  and  given  the  name  of  Buddhism. 
[88  1 


PLATE  XXXIII 

One  of  the  Eight  Scenes  in  the  Life  of  Buddha: 

Sakya  gains  Enlightenment:  Pomo-sa 

[Page  91] 


ART 

Trinities  are  conspicuous  everywhere. 
Often  we  find  the  central  figure  of  the 
three  to  be  Sakya,  while  to  his  right  and 
left  are  the  Bodhisattvas  JVIonju  and  Fugen. 
The  former  sometimes  sits  upon  a  dog  or 
lion,  and  the  latter  upon  a  white  elephant. 
Then  they  are  easily  recognized  by  their 
mount.  When  not  mounted  they  are  not  so 
easy  of  recognition.  Even  more  common 
in  Korea  is  the  Amida  trinity.  Amida  is 
usually  accompanied  by  Kwannon  on  one 
side  and  Daiseishi  on  the  other.  (Plate 
XXV.)  There  are  other  trinities  to  be 
seen  in  Korean  temples  but  these  two  are 
common.     (Plate  XXVI.) 

These  figures  are  generally  in  curious 
relation  with  paintings.  In  most  temples 
where  there  are  figures  on  the  altar  there 
are  paintings  hung  up  on  the  wall  behind 
which  usually  represent  the  same  beings  as 
the  figures,  but  accompanied  by  many  more 
attendants.  This  association  of  pictures 
and  figures  representing  the  same  being  is 
rare,  if  it  occurs,  in  Japanese  Buddhism. 
(Plate  XXVII.) 

Lastly,  we  come  to  paintings.  While 
[89] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

many  are  related  to  figures  as  just  men- 
tioned, many  more  stand  by  themselves  and 
are  displayed  upon  the  walls  of  halls  and 
temples  without  figures.  If  we  desire  to 
make  a  study  of  the  paintings  of  a  mon- 
astery we  must  pass  from  hall  to  hall. 
Many  monasteries  are  absolute  masses  of 
great  buildings.  In  the  main  temple  there 
are  usually  figures  of  a  trinity  of  Buddhas 
or  sometimes  even  three  trinities  with  paint- 
ings hung  behind.  In  the  Rakan  hall  we 
may  find  the  sixteen  Rakan  in  figures,  in 
paintings,  or  in  combinations.  In  halls  of 
the  five  hundred  Rakan,  we  usually  find 
five  hundred  little  figures  set  on  shelves 
thickly  around  all  three  sides;  no  two  are 
just  alike,  and  it  is  probable  that  you  will 
be  told  with  glee  that  if  you  look  long  enough 
you  will  find  your  own  father  represented 
among  them.  (Plates  XXIX,  XXX.)  In 
the  hall  of  the  Ten  Kings  of  Hell  we  some- 
times find  the  figures  of  Yama  or  of  Jizo 
with  the  ten  helpers;  if  so,  behind  the  fig- 
ures are  frightful  paintings  of  the  ten  hells, 
a  picture  of  each  one  behind  its  proper  king. 
Sometimes,  however,  there  are  only  paint- 
[90] 


PLATE  XXXI\' 

The  God  of  the  Mountain:   Fuko-an,  branch 

OF  SiNKEi-SA,  Diamond  Mountains 

[Page  93] 


ART 

ings  in  this  hall.  (Plate  XXVIII.)  At  some 
temples  there  is  the  hall  of  the  Eight  Scenes 
of  the  Life  of  Buddha.^'-  These  scenes  are 
definite  and  fixed  in  every  detail,  are  tra- 
ditional, and  have  been  passed  down  for 
centuries.  The  whole  building  is  occupied 
by  the  eight  great  paintings  hung  upon  the 
wall.  Each  contains  a  mass  of  detail,  and 
there  may  be  hundreds  of  individuals  rep- 
resented in  a  single  scene.  (Plate  XXXIII.) 
Occasionally  there  is  a  hall  of  portraits  at 
a  monastery;  such  a  one  we  saw  at  the  mon- 
astery where  we  rebuked  the  priests  for 
avarice  and  impoliteness;  the  building  is 
devoted  to  the  portraits  which  are  said  to 
be  reliable  representations  of  the  head 
priests  of  this  monastery  for  a  period  of 
almost  fifteen  hundred  years.  One  might, 
however,  visit  many  monasteries  without 
finding  such  a  hall. 

Probably  every  monastery  of  any  con- 
sequence has  its  hall  of  Seven  Stars.  It  is 
always  a  little  building  and  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  group  of  temples.  Korea  must 
have  worshipped  the  constellation  of  the 
Great  Bear,  the  Big  Dipper  or  the  Seven 
[91] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

Stars,  long  before  Buddhism  came.  Many 
Koreans  still  pay  worship  to  the  stars  them- 
selves. The  father  of  a  young  man  who  was 
once  my  Korean  interpreter,  never  fails  to 
pray  to  the  seven  stars  on  any  night  when 
the  sky  is  clear  enough  for  them  to  be  seen; 
the  worship  is  interesting  and  deserves  at- 
tention. It  was  probably  taken  over  early 
by  Buddhism.  The  picture  always  shown 
in  this  little  hall  is  very  curious.  There  is 
always  a  Buddha  figure  of  some  kind  in  it, 
but  above  are  Buddha-like  figures  of  the 
Seven  Stars,  heavenly  beings,  with  pale 
faces;  below  there  are  the  representations 
of  seven  earthly  ministers  corresponding 
to  them;  the  idea  that  heavenly  conditions 
are  reproduced  upon  the  earth  is  one  com- 
mon to  many  religions.     (Plate  XXXI.) 

One  other  building  is  certain  to  be  found 
at  every  monastery.  It  is  a  wee  structure, 
sacred  to  the  God  of  the  Mountain.  He  is 
a  mysterious  being.  He  is  usually  rep- 
resented with  a  beard  and  a  beard  quite 
different  from  those  regularly  seen  in 
China,  Korea  or  Japan.  He  is  always 
accompanied  by  a  tiger,  particularly  notice- 
[92] 


PLATE  XXXV 

Portrait  of  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Sixteen 

Rakan:   Chikchi-sa 

[Page  95] 


ART 

able  for  head  and  tail ;  the  god  of  the  moun- 
tain varies  more  than  any  other  representa- 
tion in  Korean  art.  The  features  mentioned, 
however,  are  always  emphasized.  All  agree 
that  the  god  of  the  mountain  is  individual; 
he  is  not  the  god  of  mountains  generally, 
nor  a  god  overseeing  mountains  every- 
where, but  ever  specifically  the  god  of  the 
mountain  on  which  his  shrine  is  located. 
(Plate  XXXIV.) 

Sometimes  there  is  another  very  little 
hall  known  as  the  hall  of  the  Lonely  Saint. 
When  it  occurs  it  usually  stands  at  the  side 
of  the  hall  of  the  god  of  the  mountain  and 
is  of  its  size.  Within  there  is  a  hanging 
picture  of  the  Lonely  Saint.  Unfortu- 
nately we  cannot  show  a  copy  of  it.  We 
have  planned  repeatedly  to  take  it  but 
something  has  always  happened  to  pre- 
vent. Trollope  tells  us  that  the  lonely  saint 
was  a  historic  personage,  Chikai,  who  lived 
in  China  in  the  sixth  century,  and  was  the 
founder  of  the  very  ancient  Tendai  sect. 

These  paintings  in  Korean  temples  are 
rarely  beautiful,  but  they  surely  deserve 
careful  study  by  competent  art  students. 
[93] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

The  colors  used  are  bright  and  light.  Faces 
of  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas  are  usually 
yellow  or  white.  These  high  beings  are 
regularly  represented  with  aureoles,  the 
boat-shaped  aureole  occurring  commonly 
with  Kwannon  and  iVIiroku.  Gods  and 
human  beings  occur  in  crowds  in  these 
paintings,  but  no  matter  how  crowded  the 
composition  the  individuals  are  usually 
definite  and  known.  The  artists  are  priests 
and  it  is  common  for  the  few  who  have 
famous  skill  to  travel  from  temple  to  tem- 
ple, touching  up  old  pictures  and  painting 
new  ones.  They  stay  for  weeks  or  months 
and  then  pass  on  to  new  fields.  The  designs 
are  certainly  traditional  and  very  old,  but 
the  paintings  themselves,  as  we  see  them  in 
the  temple,  are  many  of  them  the  work  of 
very  recent  years.  Most  of  the  monks  and 
acolytes  know  very  little  of  the  meaning 
of  the  pictures,  but  those  who  paint  them, 
and  those  who  are  serious  students  can 
identify  the  actors  in  the  scenes  depicted. 
We  reproduce  a  picture  from  Sukwang-sa 
which  illustrates  the  crowding  of  persons 
and  the  attention  given  to  detail.  Upon  it 
[94] 


ART 

there  are  represented  one  Pul  or  Buddha, 
with  three  faces,  four  Posal  or  Bodhisattvas, 
the  twenty-eight  heavenly  kings  (each  cor- 
responding to  one  of  the  ancient  constella- 
tions), and  ten  times  ten  gods  (they  are 
actually  grouped  by  tens  and  there  are  ten 
each  of  earth,  fire,  water,  small  water 
bodies,  air,  the  human  body,  movement, 
field  work  and  mountain  fortresses).  This 
design  is  really  a  common  one,  and  we  have 
a  photograph  of  it  also  from  Pawpchu-sa. 
Comparison  of  the  two  pictures  shows 
absolute  identity  in  the  number  and  placing 
of  the  individuals.     (Plate  XXXIl.) 

We  have  already  stated  that  there  is  con- 
siderable variation  in  the  picture  of  the 
god  of  the  mountain,  though  he  is  always 
recognizable  by  certain  features.  Pictures 
of  individual  Rakan  are  common  in  temples 
and  these  pictures  are  always  precise  and 
definite,  giving  in  every  instance  the  char- 
acteristic features  or  attributes.  (Plate 
XXXV.) 

Occasionally — perhaps  more  commonly 
than  we  know  —  the  monasteries  possess  an 
enormous  rolled  painting  of  a  single  Bud- 
[95] 


KOREAN    BUDDHISM 

dha.  We  have  seen  one  at  Pawpchu-sa  and 
another  at  Tongdo-sa.  At  Pawpchu-sa  they 
brought  it  out  from  the  great  temple  and 
unrolled  it  for  us,  in  the  open,  that  we 
might  see  its  size.  At  Tongdo-sa  it  was 
already  elevated  for  the  occasion  of  the 
celebration  of  Buddha's  birthday.  It  tow- 
ered above  the  highest  building,  and  was 
worshipped  by  the  crowding  thousands. 
(Plates  XXXVI,  XXXVII.) 

In  this  brief  study  of  Korean  Buddhism 
we  have  but  sketched  a  subject  which  pre- 
sents a  vast  material,  which  as  yet  is  almost 
unknown  and  practically  untouched  by 
students. 


[96 


w 


O   Cl, 
Q 


O 

o 

h 


z 

o 

w 

Pi 
w 
O 


Q 
Q 


< 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Gale.  The  Pagoda  of  Seoul.  Transactions  of  the 
Korea  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society.  Vol. 
VI,  Pt.  II,  pp.  1-22.     Seoul:  1915. 

Gordon.  Some  Recent  Discoveries  in  Korean  Tem- 
ples and  their  Relationship  to  Early  Eastern  Chris- 
tianity. Trans.  K.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  V,  Pt.  II, 
pp.  1-39.     Seoul:  1914. 

Gordon.  Symbols  of  "the  IVay  "  —  Ear  East  and 
IV est.    Tokyo:  19 16.     Maruzcn  &  Co. 

Hulbert.  History  of  Korea.  Seoul:  1905.  2  vols. 
Methodist   Publishing  House. 

Jones.  Colossal  Buddha  at  Eunjin.  Trans.  K.  B. 
R.  A.  S.     Vol.  I,  pp.  51-70.     Seoul:  1901. 

Richard.  A  Mission  to  Heaven  .  .  .  by  Ch'iu  Ch'ang 
Ch'un.  Shanghai:  1913.  The  Christian  Litera- 
ture Society's  Depot. 

Trollope;  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Buddhism  in 
Corea.  Trans.  K.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  VIII,  pp. 
1-41.     Seoul:  1917. 


[97] 


NOTES 

I.  Aryavarrnan,  a  man  of  Sinlo  (Corea),  left 
Chang'an  a.d.  638.  He  set  out  with  a  view  to  recover 
the  true  teaching  and  to  adore  the  sacred  relics.  He 
dwelt  in  the  Nalanda  Temple,  copying  out  many 
Sutras.  He  had  left  the  eastern  borders  of  Corea  and 
now  bathed  in  the  Dragon  pool  of  Nalanda.  Here 
he  died,  aged  seventy  odd  years. 

Hivui-nieh,  a  Corean,  set  out  for  India  638  a.d., 
arrived  at  the  Nalanda  Temple  and  there  studied  the 
sacred  books  and  reverenced  the  holy  traces.  I-tsing 
found  some  writing  he  had  left  in  the  temple,  where 
also  he  had  left  his  Sanskrit  MSS.  The  priests  said  he 
died  the  same  year,  about  sixty  years  of  age. 

Hiueti  Ta'i,  a  doctor  of  the  law,  a  Corean,  called 
by  the  Sanskrit  name  of  Sarvajiianadeva.  In  the  year 
Yung-hwei  (650  A.D.)  he  went  by  the  Tibetan  road 
through  Nepal  to  Mid-India;  he  there  worshipped  the 
relics  at  the  Bodhi  Tree.  Afterwards  going  to  the 
Tukhara  country,  he  met  Taou-hi,  with  wliom  he  re- 
turned to  the  Tahsio  Temple  (Mahabodhi).  After- 
wards he  returned  to  China,  and  was  not  heard  of 
again. 

Hiuen-haii,  a  doctor  of  the  law,  a  Corean,  went  witli 
Hiuen-chiu,  in  the  middle  of  the  Chcngkican  period,  to 
India,  and  reaching  the  Tahsio  Temple,  he  died  there. 

Two  priests  of  Corea,  names  unknown,  started  from 
Chang'an  by  the  southern  sea-route  and  came  to  Srib- 
hoja.  They  died  in  the  country  of  Po-lu-sse,  to  the 
westward   (the  v/estern  portion  of  Sumatra). 

[99] 


NOTES 

Hivui  Lun,  a  Corean,  otherwise  called  Prajnavarma, 
came  by  sea  from  his  own  country  to  Fuchau,  and  pro- 
ceeded thence  to  Chang'an.  Followinj^  after  the  priest 
Hiuen-chiu,  he  reached  the  West,  and  during  ten  years 
dwelt  in  the  Amravat  country  and  in  the  Sin-che  Tem- 
ple (north  of  the  Ganges).  Passing  through  the 
eastern  frontiers,  and  thence  proceeding  northward 
he  came  to  the  Tu-ho-lo  ( Tukhara)  Temple.  Beal : 
Life  of  Hiouen-Tsiang,  pp.  xxix— \xx,  xxxvi. 

2.  Jones  in  his  admirable  discussion  of  the  Eunjin 
mirioic  makes  an  interesting  suggestion  regarding  its 
location ; 

But  the  special  interest  these  facts  have  for  us 
in  connection  with  the  great  Buddha  lies  in  the 
fact  that  it  may  have  been  here  that  Buddhism 
itself  first  entered  Pakche.  Buddhism  was  a  for- 
eign importation,  being  sent  to  the  peninsular 
kingdoms  by  the  Eastern  Tsin  dynasty  of  China 
(a.d.  317-19)  and  effecting  an  entrance  almost 
simultaneously  at  two  points  —  in  the  north  into 
Koguryu  and  in  the  south  into  Pakche.  Of  this 
latter  event  the  native  historians  tell  us:  —  "In 
the  year  a.d.  384  the  barbarian  monk  Maranant'a 
came  from  Tsin.  King  Chip-yu  accorded  him  a 
most  courteous  and  ceremonious  reception  and 
Buddhism  was  established  as  the  national  re- 
ligion." We  do  not  know  at  what  point  the 
monk-missionary  landed,  but  it  is  not  so  unlikely 
that  he  may  have  come  to  this  well-known  port, 
and  that  one  day  among  the  ships  making  up  that 
inextricable  mass  of  masts  and  rudders  at  Si-jin 
there  may  have  come  the  imperial  junk  of  Tsin 
bearing  "  the  barbarian  monk  Maranant'a  "  with 
his  images,  incense,  bells,  books  and  vestments  to 
plant  in  Korea  that  cult  which  was  to  dominate  the 
[  100] 


NOTES 

people  for  a  thousand  years,  thus  landing  close  to 
the  place  where  in  later  years  the  greatest  monu- 
ment that  Buddhism  possesses  was  to  stand.  And 
two  hundred  years  later  (a.d.  552)  there  probably 
embarked  from  this  port  that  band  of  Pakche 
priests  sent  by  their  king  to  carry  to  the  mikado  of 
Japan  the  golden  images  of  Buddha  and  the  triad 
of  precious  ones,  the  sutras  and  sacred  books,  and 
to  give  the  faith  of  Buddhism  to  the  Sun-rise 
Empire.  And  it  is  said  that  these  relics  exist  to 
this  day  and  are  preserved  in  the  city  of  Nagano 
in  Japan.     Colossal  Buddha:  p.  62. 

3.  It  occurs  in  the  inscription  regarding  the  Seoul 
pagoda  and  is  particularly  interesting  as  a  contem- 
porary description  of  a  temple  of  remarkable  splendor. 

Reckoning  up  the  number  of  pillars  support- 
ing the  building  they  were  found  to  exceed 
300.  The  Hall  of  the  Buddha  stood  up  high  in 
the  center,  and  the  inscription  board  above  was 
written  Taikivang  niyiuig  jiin,  "  Great  light  glor- 
ious palace."  To  the  left  was  the  Sun  Tang  or 
study  hall,  while  to  the  right  was  the  Oon-chip 
or  assembly  hall.  The  gate  was  marked  Chak- 
kwang  Moon,  Hidden  Light  and  the  outer  gate  was 
called  Panya  or  Likeness  gate.  Beyond  this  again 
was  the  Hai-tal  Moon.  There  was  a  bell-pavilion 
also  which  was  called  the  Fup-noi-kak,  Kiosk  of 
Buddha's  Thunder.  The  kitchen  was  named 
Hyang-juk,  Kitchen  House.  There  was  a  pond  on 
the  east  side,  where  lotus  flowers  were  planted ; 
and  on  the  west  w^'is  a  garden-park  where  flowers 
and  trees  grew.  Behind  the  Cheung-jun  palace 
the  sacred  books  were  in  keeping,  and  this  house 
was  called  Hai-Jang  Chun  or  Sea  Covering  Hall. 
Also  a  pagoda  was  built  of  thirteen  stories  called 
[loi] 


NOTES 

sul-to-pa,  Buddhist  pagoda.  Within  it  were  placed 
the  accumulated  sari  and  the  newly  translated 
Wun-gak  sutra.  The  palaces,  halls,  studies,  guest- 
rooms, stores,  kitchens,  outhouses,  had  each  their 
particular  place.  The  whole  was  magnificent 
and  well  constructed,  and  the  ornaments  were 
lavish,  imposing,  beautiful,  all  in  keeping  and 
fair  to  see.  Its  equal  was  nowhere  to  be  found. 
Also  the  drums,  gongs,  etc.,  necessary  for  the 
service,  and  other  useful  implements  were  abun- 
dantly provided  for.     Gale:  Pagoda,  p.  lo. 

4.  Gale  finds  that  the  history  of  the  erection  of  the 
Seoul  pagoda  was  originally  inscribed  upon  the  turtle- 
borne  slab  that  accompanies  it.  Of  the  pagoda  itself, 
he  says: 

1.  The  Pagoda  was  therefore  built  in  1464- 
1466  A.D. 

2.  The  builder  was  King  Se-jo,  who  reigned 
from  1 456-1 468  and  all  the  workmen  were 
Koreans. 

3.  The  form  of  it  was  modelled  after  the 
Pagoda  in  Pung  Tuk  County,  which  had  already 
been  standing  nearly  a  hundred  years,  and  had 
been  built  by  Chinese  workmen.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  this  pagoda  had  ever  been  brought 
from  Peking  though  it  finds  its  final  resting 
place  now  in  Tokyo. 

4.  It  was  built  to  commemorate  the  excellence 
of  the  Wungak  Sutra  from  which  it  takes  its 
name. 

5.  It  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  Buddhist 
monument  in  Korea,    p.  22. 

5.  The  list  of  the  thirty  head-temples  follows: 

Yongju-sa  Chuntung-sa 

Pongeum-sa  Pongsum-sa 

[  102  ] 


NOTES 

Makok-sa  Unha-sa 

Pawpchu-sa  Koun-sa 

Songkwang-sa  Kumyong-sa 

Sunam-sa  Peyak-sa 

Tehung-sa  Sawngpul-sa 

Pakyang-sa  Yungmyung-sa 

Uipong-sa  Pawphung-sa 

Posawk-sa  Pohyun-sa 

Tongdo-sa  Kunpong-sa 

Pomo-sa  Yuchom-sa 

Haln-sa  Ualchung-sa 

Tonghwa-sa  Sawkwang-sa 

Chuim-sa  Kuichu-sa 

6.  The  magazine  conducted  by  Yi  Nung  Hwa  has 
had  several  breaks  in  publication  and  after  each  the 
name  has  been  changed.  As  here  given  the  names  are 
English  translations  of  the  original : 

Monthly  Magazine  of  Chosen  Buddhism. 
Nineteen  issues,  from  January  25,  igii  to 
August  25,  191 3. 

Buddhist  Magazine  of  the  Eastern  Sea.  Eight 
issues    from    November    20,    191 3    to    June    20, 

1914- 

Monthly  Magazine  of  the  Association  of  Ris- 
ing Buddhism.  Nine  issues  from  March  15,  191 5 
to  December  15,   191 5. 

Kingdom  of  Chosen  Buddhism.  Three  issues 
from  April  5,  1916  to  June  5,  1916. 

General  Magazine  of  Chosen  Buddhism,  from 
March  20,  191 7.  Three  numbers  had  appeared 
when  I  received  this  note  in  May  191 7. 

7.  The  texts  most  commonly  read  in  Korean  mon- 
asteries are  the  Hokkekyo,  Kegon,  Kishinlon,  Fumon- 
bon  and  Amidakyo,  according  to  Madame  Gordon. 
These  are  Japanese  pronunciation. 

[  103  1 


NOTES 

8.  The  Japanese  names  of  the  four  guardians  are: 

Bishamon :   east ;  blue  ;  tower. 
Komoku :  south;  red;  jewel. 
Jikoku :  west ;  green  ;  lute. 
Zocho :  north  ;  Hesh  ;  sword. 

9.  Three  Buddhas  have  preceded  Sakyamuni  in  the 
present  kalpa  and  one  is  Sl.h  10  come  before  the  kalpa 
ends.     The  entire  list  is: 

Krakuchanda  (Pali,  Kakusanda) ,  "who  solves 
doubt." 

Kanakamuni  (P.  Konagamana)  "body  radiant 
as  gold." 

Kasyapr    (P.   Kassapa)    "  swallower  of  light." 

Sakyamuni. 

Maitreya.     Legge :  Fa-hien,  p.  51. 

10.  The  eight  scenes  in  the  Life  of  Buddha  are: 
(a)    Incarnation. 

{b)    Birth. 

(<r)    Encounter  with   age,  sickness,  death. 
{d)   Escape  —  with   aid   of   the   four  heavenly 
kings. 

{e)   Asceticism. 

(/)   Enlightenment. 

{9)    Preaching — "turning   the   wheel." 

{h)    Nirvana. 


^^'^ 


Sv    O       —  I   ft    U oo 


w%  im 


s, 


,\\\tUNIVtR% 


_  pa 


%130NVS0\^ 


Q 


6 


^lOSANCHfx* 


%a3AiNn-3WV 


-s^lUBRARYQc 


^OFCAIIFO/?^ 


"^^aan'i^ 


^10SANCEI% 


-j^lUBRARYOc 


^l-UBRARYOc^ 


'%a3AINfl-3ViV^         ^Oimi^"^ 


93 

^<»03I1V3-30'^ 


^OFCAllFOi?^      ^Of'CAllfOff^ 


"^jaaAiNfl-sftv      "^^^AHvaan-ii^ 


^(?A}ivaan# 


^^EUNIVERi'//) 


%13DNVS01^ 


.lVWtUNIVER5//j 


%30NVS01^ 


RYOc.       ^tUBRARYQ/- 


FOft(^      ^OFCAllFOff^ 


«^^^\t•UNIVERJ/^      ^lOSANCElfj;> 


I    ? 
-    f     ^  - 

aWEUNIVER%      ^lOSANCEUr^ 


^OFCAIIFO^^ 


mm 


^OFCAIIFO/?^^ 


i 


L  006  448  199  7 

%iiv«aiH'^    %iiva8n#      <J3iaDNVS0i^    %3A]Nn-3Wv' 


f  i.'-^^^J     l>r!^^  %f,....„,.v;i^ 


.\WtUNlVERS/A 


o 


lMfUN!VERJ/A 


^lOSANGEl^^ 
o 


%a]AiNamv 


.^;^lOS•ANCfl£JJ* 

o 


!^i 


<rii33NV-S01^      ^eMNfl-JV^^ 


^OfCAllFOI?^ 


^lUBRARYd?/ 


^^ism-i^ 


^OF'CAUFOfi^^ 


^^AHVJIHn^ 


"^^AUvaaiB^ 


^UIBRARY^?^ 


^tUBRARY^v 


.\MtUNIVERy/A 

OS 


v^lOSANCfl^;, 


%omw^^    ^omm^"^      "^mmmw    '^/smmi^ 


^Of"CAllFO% 


^OfCAllFO)?^ 


^!^tUNlVER% 

9^  " 


^10SANCEI% 


%Hvaan#   "^Aavaani^     "^^iqnvsoi^    "^ijaAiNnav^^ 


^^WE•UNIVER%       ^lOSANCElfj^ 


^lUBRARY(7yr^     ^l-UBRARY-^^ 


^j^30Nvso#    "^/saaAiNa-auv^     %oimi^'^    ^tfOjnvD-io'^ 


.5Jt\EUNIVERS/A       ^lOSANGfl^;> 


OS 


j»;OFCAllfOff^ 


x$OF-CAUF0% 


